Zoidiakos
by Sakura Mizuki
Summary: It turns out another "no-good" person also started a mission to (not?) become a boss! When Tsuna meets his home tutor Reborn, 14-year-old Seira also meets Sidus, who is intent on making Seira the head of the Zoidiakos! She'll be put in charge of shady trade deals, assassinations...but this isn't the mafia. Did I mention the evil spirits seeking revenge? Looks like she'll need help.
1. Prologue 1

Well hi there! It's been a while since I posted anything new, so let me introduce myself. My name is Sakura Mizuki! I'm female and I like chocolate. There, that's all you need to know.

So this is sort of a crossover story I guess...It takes place at the same time as the Katekyo Hitman Reborn events, just at a different place, with a different reluctant mafia (well, not really a mafia) head, and a new team. I started this because...as you may not have already heard the sad news...KHR is now officially over, which is a shame. It was such a good series!

My plan for this is to eventually pick up where Amano-sensei left off. Eventually.

Anyways, enjoy the prologue!

* * *

Zodiakos

Prologue

Tsuna put a pillow down on the floor and fell upon it. He felt hopeless again, and decided to read a comic book. It wasn't like he was good at anything else.

"Tsunayoshi," his mom called from downstairs, and Tsuna could hear her footsteps coming towards his room. "I got a call from school. You came home in the middle of class again. What do you plan to do in the future?"

"I don't know..." Tsuna replied. It wasn't a miffed teenage answer-he really didn't know.

"I'm not saying you have to go to a good high school or college, you know." His mother continued, throwing open the door.

"Don't barge into my room!" Tsuna cried. His mother ignored him.

"You can live your entire life bored like you are right now, or live it happily. I want you to live feeling, 'It's great to be alive!'"

"Could you not say that in front of people? It's embarrassing."

"Oh my...well, Tsuna, today, a home tutor is coming."

"Home tutor!?" Tsuna's mom smiled and took a flyer out of her pocket.

"There was an interesting flyer in the mailbox. 'Will raise your kid to be the new leader of the next generation. Grade and subject doesn't matter. Reborn.' Isn't it great? I've never seen a promotion like this before."

"It smells like a scam!"

"It's probably a tutor from a professional business school for young men. I've wanted a teacher like this for you."

"Don't create your own image of him! I refuse to have a tutor, ok? I'm not good at anything I do anyways!"

"Ciaossu." Tsuna and his mom looked down. There was a small infant standing in between them. Besides the fact he could talk, it was also strange that he was walking and wearing a very snazzy suit. Plus, a small reptile was resting in the crease of his hat. "I arrived 3 hours early, but as a service, I'll evaluate you now."

"Hey...whose kid are you?" Tsuna's mom asked.

"Hm? I'm Reborn, the Home Tutor."

-About 8 hours later, on the other side of the world. Let's say, California.-

Seira stared up at the ceiling. It was her first time looking at the ceiling. Like, really looking at it. After all, it was only her fourth day with it. The ceiling, the room, the bed-all of it was new. It was like a long, uncomfortable hug with a stranger.

Then, out of the silence, a long beeping broke through. This was familiar-the dreaded alarm clock. It was then Seira realized that the only thing worse than having to go to school, was having to go to a new school.

"Seira!" her dad called from downstairs. "Time to get up!" She groaned. "I made French Toast!" Well.

Sighing, Seira forced herself out of her bed, avoiding the few boxes left unpacked. These boxes held her clothes. She figured she could just take out the outfits when she needed them. She dove into the box labeled 'T-shirts' and took out a pink one that had a picture of Kirby splashing multi-colored paint with a paintbrush. She had bought it when she was twelve, and it still fit well on her, although two years had passed. As she took of her pajama shirt and put on the Kirby shirt, she moved over to a box labeled 'jeans', took out a blue pair, and put that on too. She was already wearing socks, and her sneakers were waiting downstairs by the door.

Her backpack was pretty empty, considering she had no books or wayward papers yet. All she had were notebooks. She also grabbed her Nintendo TS from her night stand and stuffed it in. Maybe she could find someone else who played too.

She didn't want to seem too energetic, hoping that a mopey act would get more sympathy for her dad. Hearing her arrive downstairs, their Welsh Corgi, Tai, shuffled his short legs to greet her. Seira smiled. At least Tai was always happy.

"Aren't you excited, Seira?" Her father was smiling. "You get to start a new school today!"

"Um...let me think...no." She sat at the table and her father gave her a plate of french toast. "No, I'm not."

"Oh, come on. School is fun! Take this as an opportunity to reinvent yourself."

"I'm fourteen. I'm not quite at 'reinventing' age yet, am I?"

"Any age is reinventing age. If it wasn't, you'd still be wearing diapers." Seira gave a fake laugh. "Let me know when you're done. I'm going to drive you to school." Seira started to dig in, and her father's phone started to ring.

"Hello? Yes?" There was a long pause. Tai had moved over to Seira, staring up at her.

"No." Seira said through bites. "You have dog food."

"Right now?!" Seira and Tai jumped at her father's voice. "No..No, I understand. Ok, thanks. No, it's fine..." Her father hung up, sighing.

"What's wrong, dad?"

"Seira...It's not that far to school, is it?"

"'Is it'?" Seira repeated.

"I have to go. Something came up."

"What?! Wait, what? What came up?"

"You don't need to worry about it, sweetie." Her father kissed her forehead. "Have a great day at school!" Holding the car keys, the dashed out the house, leaving Seira and Tai alone. Seira and Tai stared at each other.

"You don't have a car, do you?" Tai blinked in response. "Okay." Seira finished her french toast and placed the plate, fork, and knife into the sink. She sighed. "Looks like I'm walking." She scratched Tai's caramel colored fur. It was only a little lighter than her skin, and she liked how the two colors looked together.

"Bye bye, Tai."

"Arf Arf Arf!" Tai repeated. Seira picked up her backpack and walked out of the house, locking the door behind her.

Comet Bay wasn't a bad town. A good balance of nature and city, only an hour to the nearest beach. If Seira wasn't blinded by homesickness, she would have happily accepted such a town. She sighed. Then again, it wasn't the town she missed. It was more of the comfortable niche she had found herself in. Her last school in Fairview had been comfortable enough. She was settled into the role of the 'smart geek': got good grades and played video games. She was still collecting Pokemon cards well after the fad past, and she didn't find enjoyment of buying the latest year's fashions. Not for lack of trying on her mother's part though, who tried to push her only daughter into more feminine activities.

Seira sighed again as she tried to imagine what C.B. High would be like. There were plenty of stereotypes about California where she came from, and the most prominent in fashion and where stars gathered. She shuddered. She just wanted to live a quiet life with her games and comics-

"Ah!" Seira was startled by the sudden voice, but more by whatever she ran into-or whoever.

"Oh, sorry! I was lost in thought!" The person turned around and sighed.

"Whatever. Just watch where you're going." Seira quickly observed him. He couldn't have been much older than she was, so she figured she should double check.

"But, um..." Seira felt herself choke. She didn't like talking to new people, and this one was really good looking, like he came out of a Final Fantasy game.

"What?" he asked, his face looking more and more creeped out.

"Oh, sorry. I just...I'm new and I'm looking for Comet Bay High School!" There was a moment, and the guy laughed.

"So, fresh meat, huh? Nice. You can follow me." Seira sighed in relief. At least she was going to get to school okay. She took a step forward and she felt the ground move below her.

_This had to be one of California's famous earthquakes_, she thought. She looked up at her guide, but he was gone. In fact, the city was gone, replaced by a backdrop that looked like it came from a planetarium.

"What..." Seira wasn't sure what she was asking, only that a small child-like statue was suddenly floating in front of her.

"Awaken, Aries..."

"Awake..." She felt her consciousness fading, as if she was going to fall into a deep dream...

"Awake...Awake..."

"You awake?!"

"Eek!" Seira flinched, and the world went back to normal. Instead of rock-baby, the guy's face was right in front of hers.

"Wow, you're a space case. Are you following me, or not?"

"Yes!" Seira quickly followed the guy's pace.

"You're lucky my bike's in the shop, or I wouldn't bother."

"Thanks..." Seira sighed.

"So, what year are you?"

"I'm a freshman..."

"Name?"

"Um...Seira."

"Well, I'm Ryan." Perhaps it was due to her previous impression of him, but she imagined him having a more unique name.

"Ok. Ryan."

"Did you come from out of state?"

"Uh, yeah! How'd you know?"

"A guess." Ryan smiled. "Ok, quick note: Don't stare at Mr. Buckwhey's nose and don't use the bathroom on the third floor. You'll be fine." With that, Ryan ran ahead to join a group of guys outside the gate of the high school, letting Seira realize they were here. She quickly muttered a 'bye' to Ryan and made her way into the building.

She remembered she was told in the letter she received yesterday to go straight to the principal's office. It wasn't hard to find, as it was at the end of the hall on the first floor.

"Mr. Buckwhey's office..." Seira's eyes bulged through her glasses when she remembered Ryan's warning. She wondered what could possibly be wrong with Mr. Buckwhey's nose. She took a deep breath, and walked in.

Seira stared blankly at her feet, attempting to block out the sight of his nose. She tried to focus on the present-she was looking for room 124, her homeroom. She found herself hoping that Ryan would be in her class, just so she would have a familiar face. She opened the door and saw her classroom.

School had started about a week ago, so most of the other students were already settled. Some of them looked at her, surprised by the guest.

"Are you lost?" One of the girls asked.

"This is room 124, right?" Seira asked. Everyone who cared enough to nodded or softly said yes. "That's what I'm looking for..." Seira made her way to the desks and picked one in the middle.

"That's Max's desk." One of the guys said.

"That's my desk." One of the girls said when Seira tried to sit at hers. Seira felt her face grow hot as she awkwardly moved towards the door again. She just wanted a seat.

"Alright, everyone! Seats!" The teacher walked in, nearly throwing the door open. Immediately, the class scrambled to their seats. Not a single one was free. Seira looked at the teacher. He was younger than she'd though he'd be, like he was fresh out of college or something. The teacher then noticed her.

"You're Seira Reymond, right?"

"Yes!" She didn't know why she was so enthusiastic about it.

"I'm Mr. Nicolas, your homeroom teacher. I just picked up your file from the office. You can have a seat...Priya."

"Yes?" Priya jumped a little bit, not expecting to be called.

"Move over your desk a bit. And you, Derek, move your desk to the back. Everyone move, leave a hole where Priya's seat was." Everyone obeyed, leaving a seat.

"You can go get a desk from Room 122-I know they have extra desks." Mr. Nicolas stated. Seira nodded and followed orders. There was just something commanding about Mr. Nicolas.

While it wasn't graceful, she did get the desk and chair without any help, placing it in between to Priya and another boy. With that, Mr. Nicolas moved on to the homeroom agenda. With the exception of this month, there would be homeroom once a month. No one was sure why, it was just a formality on every month except for report card season.

Mr. Nicolas took attendance, and left it at that.

"Do what you like until the bell rings for class. Seira, could you come here please." Seira silently obeyed, moving to the other side of Mr. Nicolas' desk. Like her, Mr. Nicolas' also wore glasses, and he and Ryan had a similar shade of black hair. His legs were long and defined too. Like most teachers, he wore a casual suit. He was looking at a class file. "It seems I'm going to be your algebra teacher, so you're going to need these." He reached in his desks and took out a few worksheets. "It was just a proficiency test I had everyone take. I want an idea of your skills too. We have class after lunch, so you can work on it then. Make sure you had it in."

"Uh...ok." Seira looked at the papers. She would have complained, but it seemed easy enough, like a review of last year. Soon, the bell rang for 1st period.

"Sigh..." Seira heard a girl swoon as they walked out the classroom. "Mr. Nicolas is so hot."

"I know. His stern look...why is homeroom only once a month?" Seira thought about it as she walked to her next class. She wondered if he was really that handsome.

First period was English, and there were no assigned seats, so she sat wherever.

"Hey!" Seira looked up to see a girl. She looked kind of familiar. "Your name's Seira, right?"

"Yes..."

"Cool! I'm Jane. I'm in your homeroom."

"Oh, ok." Seira brightened up. She didn't understand it herself, but she liked to be alone with other people she knew. It was weird.

"So, we've been covering Edgar Allen Poe, but the teacher's nice, so she'll give you a break." Jane told her.

It seemed the day wasn't as bad as Seira had thought (she had completely blocked out Mr. Buckwhey's nose, which in turn, blocked out the weird statue baby). Most of her classmates were either friendly or didn't 'anything' her. She was relieved that Californians weren't as catty as she had heard.

After school, Seira was on her way home when she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She yelped in surprise and she heard a familiar laugh.

"What's up, space case?" Ryan asked.

"Ah...Ryan!"

"Did you forget?"

"I'm bad with names." Seira admitted. "I have a question though, are you a freshman too?"

"Sophomore." Seira was a bit disappointed. "I'll see you around school though."

"Yeah." Seira nodded and Ryan went back to his group. Sighing, Seira moved to go back home. "Nothing has changed, huh?" Even back in Fairview, Seira would go back home alone, or with the aid of a parent. There was a time she would often go to friends' houses but...

The fresh smell of violets tickled her nose, make her sniffle. It wasn't that she was allergic, but it was just really strong-

"Prospice infra!"

"Huh?" Seira looked left and right, but there was no one around. "I wonder what-ooff!" Seira felt a heavy weight crashing onto her, and she fell to the ground. Her brain was in to much pain to comprehend what had happened.

"Just as I thought! Aries, prone to head injuries!"

"Huh?" Seira felt her mind come back to her, and her eyes focused on what looked to be a talking statue in the form of a child. "Wait...you're the-"

"Salve!" The baby cut her off and looked at her up and down. At least, that's what Seira thought. Like a statue, the baby had no pupils. "I guess you'll do. Not like I have a choice." The baby pointed his finger at her. "Listen well! Whether or not you like it, you're going to become the future leader of the Zoidiakos!"

-14 hours earlier in Japan-

"So, you're Tsuna" the baby said. Tsuna was still laughing.

"I'm sorry but, there's nothing I can learn from _you_!" He could barely hold his stomach together. However, the baby kept a straight face, and kicked him right there.

"Well let's get started. This is the room, right?" The baby ignored Tsuna's mom's expression and tapped his foot. In a moment, Tsuna's mom figured this would be a good time to go. With her gone, the baby made his next move. Taking a nap.

"What was that?" Tsuna asked when he finally came to. He found the baby napping and became angry. "Hey, wake up! I won't forgive you just because you're a baby!" This would be the second of many mistakes to come. The baby came to, grabbed Tsuna's necktie, and tossed him overhead. "Owwww! What is this kid!"

"I have no openings." The baby announced. "My true line of work is assassination." He opened his briefcase and assembled the gun inside. "My real job is to make you a mafia boss."

* * *

And now, the story can begin! Well, next chapter anyways. See you soon!

_Sakura Mizuki_


	2. Prologue 2

Here is part 2 of the Prologue!

I think this is way more exciting and informative than the first part. Maybe I should combine the two later...

* * *

Zoidiakos Prologue Part 2

Seira stared at the small talking statue. Then it came to her: this was a dream.

_That's right! This is a dream! I'm dreaming!" _

"There is much you need to learn, as we're already behind. I guess we should start with management, or maybe penmanship-hey!" the statue shouted as Seira moved on her way.

_I guess I should do something exciting...this is one of those lucid dreams, huh-"_Ow!" Seira's hand jumped to the back of her head. The statue had hit her from behind, and was now floating in the air. It looked very annoyed.

"This is very important! Listen to me!"

"I don't need a statue to tell me what to do! You're a statue!" Seira realized it was redundant, but it wasn't her biggest issue at the moment.

"I'm not a statue! I am Sirus, the advocate diety for the Zoidiakos-Hey!"

"You're a statue, you're a statue, you're a statue!" Seira cried, pressing her hands against her ears as she ran away. She got all the way to her house, quickly opened and slammed the door, and collapsed to the floor. Sprinting was not her strong suit.

"Wa-roo?" Tai trotted over to her and sniffed her.

"I know what that was." Seira panted. "It was a stress-caused hallucination. I haven't been sleeping well, after all." She scratched Tai's ear before she found her footing.

Brrrriiiinnngg!

The phone rang through the house. Being the only organism with thumbs, Seira moved to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Seira?" It was her dad's voice on the phone.

"Dad? What's up?"

"I'm glad I caught you after school. We need to work on getting you that cell phone..."

"Uh huh."

"Anyways, I'm calling to let you know I'm not coming back until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Tai whimpered in response, so Teira rubbed him with her now bare feet. At a time when she really needed some normality, this happens. "Why tomorrow?"

"It's for your mom. You know how it is."

"Uh huh." A more dirty minded person would have had _those kinds_ of thoughts, but Seira knew her parents weren't like that. Not anymore anyways.

"Anyways, I promise I'll pick you up from school tomorrow. We'll get ice cream!"

"You can't have ice cream, dad."

"Shhh!" Both she and her father had a laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow, Seira."

"Ok. Bye, dad." She hung up the phone feeling a little better.

"So, does this mean a house party?"

"No, of course not-" Seira realized that it wasn't Tai's bark and looked to see Sirus sitting on the kitchen table. "EEEEEKKK!"

"Wow, you're noisy!" Sirus rubbed his ears.

"How-why-you-it-"

"Are you done yet?"

"I'm crazy. I'm really crazy."

"You're not crazy."

"And you're not real! You can't be! Statues don't talk..." Tai cut her off, barking at Sirus, perplexed with the new arrival. Seira felt her mind sink. Tai could see it too. She slunk to the floor, defeated. "Fine. You're real. But what do you want with me?"

"Like I said, I'm here to train you to become the next leader of the Zoidiakos."

"What is the Zoidiakos?"

"It's a secret organization that spans the globe. We monitor world leaders, carry out assassinations, extort money-"

"Oh my god. It's the mafia?!"

"Of course not!" Sirus seemed very annoyed by that comment. "We're not as heinous as they are!" Seira narrowed her eyes.

"It sure sounds like it..."

"The mafia are children compared to the Zoidiakos." Sirus snorted. "We've been around for more than 2000 years!"

"Right...and you want to entrust that to a teenage girl."

"It's not like we have a choice. It's just how things are done."

"Uh huh. And, _how_ are they done?" Sirus seemed to make a long scroll appear out of nowhere, startling Tai.

"Right now, it's the Pisces generation, led by the current leader, Seth Kassab. It's traditional for the next head to be an Aries."

"You...use the Zodiac to pick your leaders? How has that been working out?"

"Well, it's been the system for more that _2000 years_, so I would have to say 'good'. It's my job to find, pick, and train the future leaders." Sirus unfolded the scroll, and a list of names appeared, followed by what appeared to be a birthdate. "These are the names of all the potential leaders." Seira noticed that the first thirteen names were crossed out.

"What happened to those guys?" Seira asked.

"Car accident, Shoot out, brain injury, heart injury, lovers spat, stabbed, masturbated too much, unmentionable, another shoot out, in that same shoot out, pneumonia, an STD, and rabies." Seira wasn't sure what to say. "Anyways, there's you." Sirus pointed to the words "Seira T. Reymond, April 4". Your blood is the next closest to the first leader, so you're next in line."

"Yeah, uh...will anything like that happen to me?"

"Well a few of them were self-imposed-or were you talking about the shooting and the stabbing?" Seira nodded. "Well, that all happened before it was time for succession, so probably not. We're not a gang, you know."

"I'm still not sure about that. But anyways, can't you pick this guy?" Seira pointed to the name underneath hers.

"No can do. It has to be you."

"But I don't want to! I just want to make a sandwich, do my homework, play some video games, and go to bed!" There was a pause, and Sirus looked thoughtful.

"Ok."

"O-okay? Really?"

"I'm not unreasonable. If you don't want me here, I'll leave." Suddenly, Sirus disappeared, but his voice did not. "Just get ready..."

"Get ready?" But Sirus was now gone. Tai whimpered, sniffing the table. "Let's just forget about that, ok, Tai?"

Seira has never been good at cooking, so she made some cereal for dinner. Her homework was done in no time, and soon she and Tai were on her bed. Tai had already started to doze, and Seira would join him as soon as she got to level 10.

The next day, Seira found herself walking to school. She had hoped to meet Ryan again, but that didn't happen. When she arrived at school, she went straight to English class were Jane beckoned her over.

"Seira!"

"Hi." Seira sat down next to Jane.

"So, what did you think of that story?"

"Spooky. You'd think he had the worst life ever."

"I know!"

5 periods later, Seira found herself in her algebra class. She focused intently on the board, being sure to take notes when necessary. The class was an advanced level class, so most of the other students were paying attention.

"...And so, what's the answer? Wafai." Mr. Nicolas focused to a dark-skinned boy near Seira.

"...-4." Wafai said, sounding disinterested.

"Wrong." Suddenly, Wafai's cool demeanor shattered for a short while in shock. He swiftly recovered and put himself in deep thought. "Seira?"

"Um...4i?"

"Correct." Mr. Nicolas spared a brief smile, and continued to explain why Seira was right. Seira wasn't particularly happy or bothered by it, but she suddenly felt a chill on the side of her body. She looked over for a moment and caught a glimpse of Wafai glaring at her. She shuddered.

_Great. I'm already making enemies._ She groaned inside her head.

After school, Seira waited by the gate for her dad. To pass the time, she took out her game system and began to level grind her rpg characters.

"Hey, space case." Seira looked to see Ryan looking over her shoulder. She didn't realize that he was actually quite a bit taller than her.

"Hi, Ryan. But you know, my name's Seira, right?"

"I like space case." Ryan grinned. "Is that Naga-Eco?"

"Yep."

"Cool. I was going to get it, but then my baby broke." Ryan patted his motorcycle. Seira looked over it in fascination. She had never seen one not in motion and so close before.

"I guess money well spent, huh?" Seira smiled.

"Yep. Are you waiting for someone?"

"Yeah, my dad."

"Oh, ok. See you around then."

"Um, wait!" Seira paused, not really knowing why she stopped him. "Uh...can I use your phone? I just want to check on him."

"Sure, ok." He took out his phone and gave it to her. "Something happen to yours?"

"Yeah, I'm getting a new one soon though." _If he knows it fell in the toilet, I'll be space case for life._

"...Of course he can't make it." Seira grumbled to herself. Her father explained that he would be home later than he thought, but definitely today. She decided to just walk home and thanked Ryan for the phone. Sighing, she figured she had time to explore the town a bit.

Comet Bay was split in the middle by the library, so areas were just referred to by their placement to the library. Most houses were in North L, with many of the shops in South L or East L. The beach, of course, was towards West L. The school and mayor's house both happened to be in L.A.-the library's area, not to be confused with the actual L.A., which was quite south of Comet Bay.

She ended up by the park in North L. Not many children were around, as Comet Bay didn't have that high of a kid population. Seira decided to sit on a bench and just space out. It would serve her father right if she was a little late.

"Ow!" Seira felt a sharp pain on her head, forcing her to look up. Squirrels were peacefully minding their own business, but also dropping their acorns. Seira looked at the ground at the nut, remembering what Sirus said. She grumbled. "Aries, prone to head injuries..." It wasn't that she felt astrology was complete bull, but she wasn't compelled to check her horoscope every day. "Ah!" another acorn hit her head. "Quit it!" she snapped at the squirrels. She looked up angrily and saw that the two little squirrels weren't so little anymore.

Their fur was now dark purple and spikey, and their bodies were now the size of a small child. Their eyes glowed with violent violet and they were drooling out of their large fangs.

"W-what?" Seira looked around, and saw that her surroundings were that of when she first met Ryan-it was dark-shaded with small dots of light around. Before she could pinch herself, a squirrel jumped down to swipe at her. Screaming, Seira jumped off the bench, only her jacket getting frayed at the end. "What's going on?!" she cried, running away from the squirrels.

"You're in the Cosmic Zone."

"Huh?" Seira stopped short to see Sirus floating in front of her. "The Cosmic Zone?"

"Better get out of the way." Seira had almost forgotten she was running for her life. "You're not very athletic, are you?"

"Shut up!" Seira yelled while trying to breathe. "What's going on?!"

"It's your job as the head of the Zoidiakos to quell their core. It's been infected."

"But-eek!-why me?!" Seira narrowly dodged a side swipe.

"Do you see anyone else around?" Seira looked around. Comet Bay wasn't L.A., but it wasn't as barren as she saw now. "They only care about you because you're a descendant of Zoidica. They smell your core. I hear they find it quite delicious."

"THEY'RE GONNA EAT ME?!"

"Not if you fight back."

"H-h-" Seira wasn't used to running for so long, especially not in a life-or-death scenario. "H-how?"

"You don't have any special talents, do you?"

"Uh...does beating Final Fantasy count?" Sirus sighed.

"Guess I have to help you. Stop here." Seira and Sirus stopped behind a building. "Ok, here!" Sirus touched the middle of Seira's forehead. "Temper is your weak point, but it's also your strength. Aren't you mad at someone right now?"

"...mad..." Seira only felt a little mad that her father had bailed on her, but now it was reaching a near irrational level. Nothing else was getting through to her, except for Sirus' voice in her head.

_Now, channel it towards your opponents-let all your rage out at once!_

The squirrels narrowed in, mouths wide open. Seira's eyes might as well been flames.

"Aries Temper Flash!" Her furious aura shot out, piercing the squirrels. In their middle, a small purple light flashed a few times before reducing to a gentle white. The squirrels then resumed their normal appearance and the Zone disappeared. Seira was now in the middle of a busy sidewalk, and Sirus was gone.

"Sirus...?" Seira looked at her frayed jacket. It wasn't a dream.

Tired and scared, Seira finally arrived home. Her only solace was that whatever she did to those squirrels had calmed down all of her anger.

"I'm home..." Tai happily greeted her, like always.

"Welcome back, Seira!" Her father came out from the kitchen. "I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up. How was the walk?"

"It was fine." _Except for the mutated squirrels that tried to eat me_. Seira went upstairs to her room and fell over on the bed.

"So, changed your mind about being the Zoidiakos' leader?" Seira snapped her head up to see Sirus looking smug.

"You knew that was going to happen." She growled.

"Of course. Whether or not you accepted your destiny, they were going to smell you out. When you're near an infected core, it's my job to take you to the Cosmic Zone where you can fight them without being seen by outsiders. It also prevents the real world from being damaged." Seira did notice that the park seemed ok despite the bench being slashed during the fight. "Normal people can't fight them, as they're influenced by something higher than the earthly plane."

"So? The Zoidiakos' leader is pest control?"

"The infection doesn't just take over the cores of rodents-anything that was born has a core, and that core can be infected." There was a pause. "This means humans as well."

"I got that!" Seira replied.

"In order to keep track on which cores become infected and to be able to take care of it, the Zoidiakos keeps tabs on world leaders, smuggling, orders necessary hits, blackmails-"

"Ok, see, that sounds like the mafia."

"We're not the mafia."

"Whatever..."

"So, you see you need me to let you defend yourself, and I need you to become the next leader of the Zoidiakos." Sirus smirked. "Do we have a deal?"

"Wh-?" Seira realized she had been pushed into a corner. "Nooooo!"

* * *

And now, Seira must train to become a mafia-I mean, not a mafia leader. Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with KHR? You'll find out soon...soon...*insert evil hand rubbing*

_Sakura Mizuki_


	3. Chapter 1

And so Chapter 1 officially starts! This took a lot of my creative juices, leading me to believe I was not really meant to my a songwriter.

* * *

Chapter 1

Seira tried to catch her breath. She wasn't very athletic, and the whole 'fighting for survival' thing was really draining her. Much worse, the only attack she had was rage based, but she wasn't really an angry person. She would have to focus on something minuscule or long in the past in order to make the "Aries Temper Flash" at least appear. Worse was, she could only use it once a day, due to the anger-relieving attribute of it. And even worse, there was Sirus.

"Those frogs really gave you a run for your money, huh?" Sirus asked. Seira growled at him as she picked a lily pad out of her hair. They used to be poisonous as well, but when she calmed the infected cores the lily pads returned to normal.

"Oh, who asked you?" Seira muttered.

"That said, we do need to work on combat training," Sirus said as Seira tried to wring the water out of her jacket. Seira started to head home, ignoring Sirus as the Cosmic Zone disappeared. "It seems we need to start with the basics-"

"Yeek!" Seira fell flat on the ground.

"Including walking." Sirus finished. Seira groaned with embarrassment, looking at her feet as she tried to get on her knees. A bright pink wallet decorated with small fake jewels was shining there.

"What's this?" Seira asked as she picked it up.

"It's obviously a wallet."

"Don't you have someone else to annoy?"

"Fine then." Sirus popped away, leaving Seira alone.

"Ah, you!" Seira looked up ahead of her. A girl about her age was running up to her-at least, it seemed like she was trying to run. There was something so dainty and deliberate about every action as the girl tried run without blowing up her half-skirt too high. Her blond hair also seemed to flutter in such a purposeful way that it almost made Seira feel conscious about her often un-pampered hair. When the girl approached Seira, her face tried to scrunch up in anger. "Even if you're a fan, you should steal something precious like that!"

"Fan...? Fan of who?"

"What?!" The girl looked shocked. "You don't know me?!"

"Should I?" The girl looked truly hurt by it, then (tried to) look angry again.

"Then you're just a thief!?"

"What? No! I just tripped over it! You must have dropped it or-"

"Whatever." The girl grumbled, then held out her smooth, manicured hand. "Can I have it back?"

"Take it." Seira placed the wallet in her hand. "Just be more careful next time."

"Hmm." the girl turned on her high-heel, not paying Seira any more mind. Seira sighed as she moved to the tree she left her backpack at when the frogs attacked her. It seemed like most of the infected cores came from the park, so there was always something. It had only been a week since all this started for her, and she probably had fought enough of nature to make any animal rights activist pissed.

When she got home, she rubbed Tai's ears before heading to the kitchen table. Her dad's job had gotten more stable, so it would be just her and the dog-and Sirus whenever he wanted to show up. It didn't take her long to finish her English or History homework-both were just reading-but Math always took her a long time. Mr. Nicolas liked to assign as much as he could, much to the chagrin of the majority of the class. Only Seira and Wafai never really complained, as both seemed to get good grades regardless.

"Seira!"

"Eek!" Seira hated when Sirus came from no where. "What?!"

"Let me see your cell phone."

"Huh?" A few days ago, Seira and her dad had finally gotten around to getting her a new phone-the newest model of the Cyborg phone. "Here..." Seira passed the phone over to Sirus who pocketed it. "Hey!"

"This is better." Sirus gave Seira a silver touch screen phone. "It's a gift from Kassab-a welcoming present into the Zoidiakos."

"I'm not joining the Zoidia-is this?" On the back of the phone in chrome writing, "Nova" was written in a smooth calligraphy. Seira tried to contain her drool.

"Now, that's a little special-"

"A little?!" Seira hugged the phone. "This is the 'Nova'-a revolution in cell phone technology!"

"Yes, but-"

"It has 6G, the standard model has 100GB, and its diction program is nearly flawless and constantly learning!"

"That's good, but-"

"It's worth over $1000 and it's not supposed to be on the market until next year! How did you get this?!"

"The Zoidiakos has connections to all sorts of businesses. It's just the simple power of extortion." Seira's excitement dimmed a bit.

"I keep forgetting this is the mafia-"

"It's not the mafia."

"Awwwooo!" Tai jumped off his bed and moved to the front door, wagging his tail. "Awwoowowoo!"

"Dad's home!"

"But, Seira!" But Seira had already opened moved towards the door.

"Thanks for the phone, Sirus, but I need to do my homework." The door opened and Sirus disappeared, rolling his eyes.

He didn't come back that night, giving Seira a night off from him. The next day, Seira ran out of the house. Her father had to go to work early today, and she was too distracted playing with the Nova to realize it was time to go to school.

"So, as I was trying to say before-" Seira yelped as Sirus popped in. She felt she would never get used to it. "As I was trying to say before, I think you need help."

"Help? What do you mean?"

"I mean, now is the time to get some underlings."

"See, that's just gang terminology..."

"Diction aside, you're not very skilled at this. We need other people-"

"Space case!" Sirus popped away as Seira heard the rumble of a motorcycle.

"Ryan!" Ryan pushed up his helmet and grinned.

"Want a ride?"

"Yes, please!" Ryan passed her his helmet and she sat on the motorcycle. "This is actually my first time on a motorcycle..."

"Just hold on to me." Seira meekly tugged his jacket. "No, Spacey, wrap your arms around me." Seira was glad the helmet was hiding her blushing. This was also her first time so close to a boy. Ryan started the motorcycle back up and they rode to school. Seira's mind blanked as the speed and her heartbeat echoed through her mind. She almost didn't realize when they got to school.

"Looks like we just made it. So how was your first time?"

"Huh?" The remnants of Seira's blush showed as she took off her helmet. She really only didn't hear him, but her expression made Ryan revisit his words.

"On a motorcycle! I meant on a motorcycle!"

"The motorcycle? Oh, it was fine! Good? Fun?" Seira wasn't exactly sure how to reply. There was a weird pause.

"So, uh, yeah. See you around!"

"Yeah! See you..." Ryan and Seira split away and Seira entered the school. She passed by the principal's office as Ms. Sanders came out-Seira's English teacher.

"Oh, Seira."

"Good morning, Ms. Sanders."

"Good timing. I wanted to see you."

"Why?"

"We have a new student, and the principal wants the two of you to meet because you're both new and in the same grade. You'll also be in the same English class."

"Ok..."

"Liliette, come out. I want you to meet someone!" The girl came out, her blonde hair fluttering behind her-

"Aah!" Both girls stated, to Ms. Sander's surprise.

"It's the thief!"

"I'm not a thief!"

"Um, girls-"

"I'm not a thief." Seira repeated. "I tripped over it after _you_ dropped it." There was a weird silence before Ms. Sanders interrupted.

"Well, there's a few minutes before class starts, but I'll give you a few extra so you can show Liliette around." Ms. Sanders walked to her classroom leaving Seira and Liliette. They blinked at each other.

"So, Sarah-"

"Seira."

"Right, Seira. Do you know anything interesting about this school?"

"Um, well, just that you shouldn't use the bathroom on the third floor."

"Why not?"

"I...don't really know."

"Hmm. Well, where's locker 298?"

"Yeah, follow me." Seira led the way to the lockers. As the two girls walked, there were all sort of whispers and buzzes around them. It made Seira feel self-conscious, but Liliette was grinning. When they reached Liliette's locker, a girl approached them.

"Um, are you, um...are you Lily?" The girl asked. Liliette brushed her hair over her shoulder.

"That's me." Those two words invited a crowd of people.

OMGIBOUGHTYOURNEWALBUMCANYOU SIGNWHYAREYOUHEREMYNOTEBOOKC ANWEAREYOUBEFRIENDSFREESATUR DAYOHMYGOD!

Seira inhaled all the air she could after she forced her way out of the crowd.

"She's a celebrity?" She asked herself aloud. Suddenly the bell rang.

"Sarah! Sarah!" The crowd dispersed for a moment to allow Liliette to come out. "They're going to show me to class, so you can go ahead, ok?"

"Um, that's fine, but-" Liliette was then absorbed back into the crowd. "My name's Seira..." Seira watched as the crowd blobbed away. She felt tired just remembering when they first conglomerated around her, and Liliette probably dealt with it every day. Shrugging, she went to class. When she sat down next to Jane, she was glued to her cell phone.

"Seira, Seira!" Jane whispered. "Tell me this you!" she showed Seira a picture on her cellphone, showing her and Liliette walking through the hallway.

"It's me, but-"

"I can't believe you're friends with her! You know she's the singer of "First, Love!"

"I did not know that song existed."

"It's so hot right now! We're listening to it after class, ok?" At that Liliette strode into class, and most of the girls gasped excitedly as the guys whispered and grinned. "OMG, she's in our class, can you believe it?"

"Yeah..."

After the unnecessary introduction, Liliette was assigned the free seat behind Seira. Although the class was way too distracted, Ms. Sanders still tried to keep the class going.

After class, Jane stared blankly at Liliette before remembering her promise with Seira.

"Seira! Come here, come here!" Jane plugged a pair of headphones into Seira's ears. A pop music tune came to her brain.

_You want to rock my world_

_ And you're really kinda cool_

_ But if you want to play my game_

_ You gotta know the rules_

_ I really want to be your girl_

_ And I'm up for having fun_

_ But something that you gotta know_

_ Is you're not my number one_

_ We can chill, we can hang_

_ You can make my heart burst_

_ But I'm the priority to me_

_ Know that I come first, love!_

"So? Whatcha think, whatcha think?!" Seira wasn't sure what she thought. She didn't dislike pop music, but she didn't really spend time listening to music outside of games. Final Fantasy X-2 did get her into J-Pop though.

"Um, she's a good singer, I guess. Better than me."

"Pssh. She's better than most people. I actually have one of her very first singles!"

"That wasn't it?"

"No, here, listen!"

Seira sighed as she 'relieved' herself after school ended. There was something temporarily calming about being on the toilet.

"-Can you come to my party this weekend?"

"Well, I have a busy schedule, but I'll try to be there."

"Then I so totally have to buy a new outfit. What brands do you wear, Lily?"

_Ah, it's her again._ Seira thought as she finished up. As she was struggling to get her pants back up, the other two girls finished checking up on themselves, leaving just Liliette.

"_Sigh_. Well, De Veaux is gonna freak, but I can miss one small recording session, right?" Liliette said aloud just as Seira flushed the toilet. Seira came out awkwardly and sheepishly went to the sinks. "Oh, hey...Sadie?"

"Seira. Hi, Liliette." Liliette seemed surprised. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Liliette turned her attention back to the mirror.

"I, uh...heard your song." Liliette's green eyes sparkled.

"Really?! What'd you think?!"

"Uh, it was good. I'm not really into pop music, but you have a really nice voice."

"Well, thank you." Liliette brushed her hair aside and took out a CD from her bag. "Take this as a gift as thanks for becoming my fan."

"Thanks-"

"Ah! Let me sign it!" Liliette took out a pink sharpie from her bag and wrote her signature. "How do you spell your name?"

"S,E,I,R,A."

"S...e...done!" Liliette gave Seira the CD and Seira looked at it. She had never gotten anything signed by a famous person before.

"Thanks. This is "First, Love", right?"

"Yep!"

"You know, I also liked your cover of "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here". That's actually one of my favorite songs of all time." Liliette stared at her, but Seira could almost feel her looking through her. "Liliette?"

"You...heard that song?"

"...Yes? My friend-" _Can I call her my friend yet? _"...Is actually a big fan of yours."

"...I sang that four years ago." Liliette said quietly.

"Well, I do think that you're talented. So, uh...maybe you shouldn't skip your recording session thing?"

"Oh, you heard that? Don't worry. It's nothing."

"But I mean, if you're good at something, I sort of think you should practice it all the time. You want to be a great singer, right?" Liliette was quiet for a moment, her already cream-like skin getting paler.

"Who cares if someone's a good singer or not?" Liliette spat out as she walked to the door, walking out. "The only thing that matters if you're famous." Seira stared at her back. "Just mind your own business, ok?" Seira turned her speechlessness downward towards the CD. In the picture, Liliette was posed in a sort of cutesy way, holding a microphone. This would definitely not be an album she would normally buy.

Seira left the restroom and started to return home, but something was nagging her-

**BREEP BREEP BREEP**

"Huh?" Seira looked at her pocket. It was her Nova. She took it out and a picture of map popped up. "Is this a GPS?"

"Wrong. It's a CTS."

"Stop that!" Seira snapped at the floating statue overhead. Instead of looking smug, however, Sirus looked genuinely anxious. "Sirus?"

"What color is that dot?"

"Uh..." Seira looked and sure enough, there was a purple blinking dot on the map. "Purple. Why?" Sirus sighed in relief.

"Ok, I'll open the Cosmic Zone. You go track that infected core."

"Is that what this means?" Sirus opened the Zone as Seira ran over to the core. It was much easier to get around when there were no cars or people to hinder you. She soon reached it-an infected chipmunk.

"I got you-" Seira focused on the most recent event. Although Liliette was right about Seira minding her own business, Liliette was still in the wrong for wasting a chance so few people get. "At least you got a talent to squander-Aries Temper Flash!" The chipmunk gave a squeak of pain before turning back to normal.

"Well, that was a bit more energetic than normal. Something bad happen today?" Seira sighed as she sat on the nearby bench. Comet Bay seemed to have a lot of benches.

"Why are people stupid?"

"Because you won't know who's smart unless dumb ones exist."

"That's true, I guess..." She wasn't sure whether or not she was talking about Liliette or herself.

"I'm home." Seira announced as she came through the door.

"Ah, Seira, welcome home!"

"Waaf, waaf!" Tai happily scooched to the door.

"Hey, boy." Seira then followed Tai to the living room where her dad was watching TV.

"And now, on Very VIP, we now follow up on Lucky and her new concert-"

"You watch this show, Dad?"

"Ah, you caught me." Her dad was probably blushing, but his skin color was too dark for her to tell. "I was actually hoping they would be doing a segment about that actress, Nina Bellos and her newest art endeavor, but all anyone wants to talk about lately is this...Lucky girl." Seira and her dad looked at the TV as a brunette teenager bounced around on her stage.

_If you wanna real girl_

_ That will take you for a whirl_

_ Pick me! Pick me!_

She didn't really dance, just moved from one leg to the other as she snapped her fingers a tad off beat.

"Doesn't it sound like she's been...what's that called? Auto-tone?"

"Auto-tune..." Seira reached in her bag in pulled out the CD Liliette had given her. Sure enough, at the end, Lucky struck the same pose Liliette did. "Well, that's weird..."

"Lucky's song 'Pick Me' is now number 3 in the Billboard Top 100, and is expected to reach the number 1 slot by the end of next week."

"Wow, isn't that something. You know, that sort of reminds me of your mom-Seira? You look down."

"Ah, no...well..." Seira moved to the couch and sat beside her dad. "Don't you think, if you try really hard, anything can happen?" Her dad sighed.

"Look, Seira. I know that we're not a typical family, but me and your mom-"

"No, not that! I was talking about talent! Like, if you're talented enough, don't you deserve to shine more than everyone else?"

"Well, I guess that's how the world should work. But see, look at that girl." Her dad pointed to the TV screen where Lucky was shown in the middle of an interview. "Now, don't think I'm a creep for this, but look at her. Big eyes, a cute face, and I think they said something about her uncle being a producer? Honestly, that's all you need."

"But that's not fair!" Seira shot up, startling Tai. "Sorry, Tai-I mean, it's just..."

"Life isn't fair, Nini." Seira blushed a little bit as her dad ruffled her hair.

_How long is he going to call me by that nickname..._

Three days passed Seira smiled as she stretched out her arms, sitting up on the bed. It was nice to sleep until noon. Still in her pajamas, she walked downstairs to see Tai happily taking an afternoon nap in his doggy bed as the sunbeams shone through the window.

"It's a dog's world." Seira grinned as she moved towards the kitchen. Midway through eating her bowl of cereal-

**BREEBEEP BREEBEEP BREEBEEP!**

"What the-" There was something about the beeping that seemed more frantic than before. She pulled out the phone and saw a blue dot on the map. "Why is it blue?"

"A Taboo Core!"

"Holy-Sirus!"

"We got to get there now!"

"Now? But I'm still in pajamas-"

"Now!" Seira had never seemed Sirus so frantic before, and ran out the house before she knew it. When she got to where the dot was signaled-in front of bunch of high rise apartments, Seira could see a lot of damage.

"Sirus, open the Cosmic Zone!"

"It won't do any good."

"Huh?" Seira looked up and saw a dark blue otter with black stripes causing mayhem.

"Ah!" Somebody screamed. "I think something tried to bite me!"

"They can see it?" Seira asked, stunned.

"Taboo Cores are different. They affect reality directly, and they attack indiscriminately, but no one else can see them!"

"What?!" The possessed otter sniffed the air, then locked on to Seira, hissing. "Ah! Fine then...gotta say it softly so no one else sees me in my pajamas-Aries Temper Flash!" As she was still working on the anger from that whole fame vs. talent issue, she felt it was a good one. But on the otter, it didn't seem to do much. "...What?"

"I thought so..."

"What did you think?!"

"That otter is from the Degree of Water, and Aries is a fire based element."

"What-ah!" The otter lunged at her. "You didn't mention this was high-stakes rock paper scissors!"

"I thought a girl your age would know."

"Well, I thought talking statues didn't exist."

"Is this the time?"

"Fine-eep!" The otter swiped at her again before jumping into the open manhole. Seira and Sirus looked down it. "Ok, I'm not going down there." Seira looked at her Nova to see where the Taboo otter was heading, but it disappeared.

"It probably assimilated into the water. We have to wait until it comes back up." Seira stared blankly at the manhole for a while, before she started work on getting home as quick as possible. When they got home, Sirus started to explain.

"There are five types of infected cores. The purple ones-the no element-are neutral and can be defeated by anyone. Then there's the Taboo ones that come in four colors, Red for Fire, Blue for Water, Green for Earth, and Yellow for Wind."

"Why are they called 'taboo'?" Seira asked as she changed into capris and a grey t-shirt that said "m3h".

"Because they aren't infected naturally. Someone purposely makes them that way."

"They're infecting innocent animals?!"

"For now, it seems."

"'For now?'"

"All we know is that whoever is behind this is either using cores left behind-or making them."

"...So you don't know anything?"

"This is why I said you need help." Sirus reminded her. "If only we had an Earth type..."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Well, we have to wait until it shows up again. But you already used the Temper Flash for the day..." Seira did fine herself very un-angry. "In the mean time, let's work on methods to persuade others. Method number 1, making vague threats."

A few hours passed before the Nova beeped the way it did this morning.

"Seira!"

"I know!" Seira scanned the map for the dot. "There! In North L!"

After making sure the door was locked behind her, Seira and Sirus dashed to North L as fast as Seira could run.

"You're not overweight! Why are you so tired?!"

"Shuddup! Most of my strength is in my thumbs!" Seira panted.

They finally arrived at their destination, and the otter was no longer otter-sized.

"What the-"

"It feeds off the negative emotions of people. It must have fed a lot. That's why you need to get rid of the ASAP!"

"I tried!"

"Yeeek!" She heard a scream coming from the other side of the house. There, all around a pool, a lot of teenagers had gathered. Seira remembered hearing something about a party. It had already trashed the table where the food was left out, and had started sniffing around. Finally, it set its sights on Liliette.

"What...is that..." Liliette asked, shaking in fright. Sirus stared at her.

"This is no time to get starstruck, Sirus!"

"She...sees it."

"Huh?"

"Waah!" Liliette narrowly dodged a swipe, her skirt getting a little ripped in the process.

"Lily! What happened to your skirt!"

"What's going on?!"

"Liliette!" Liliette looked up to see Seira behind the fence. "Do you see that?!"

"That monster?! Yes!" Seira opened the fence and grabbed her hand.

"Come on!"

"What? Where are we going?!"

"I think it's after you, because you're so bummed right now!" Sure enough, the otter started pursuing them.

"Of course I would be bummed after my skirt got ruined-"

"Not your skirt, your career! You're upset because of Lucky!"

"I thought you didn't care about things like that."

"Doesn't matter. You're not in a good place, so it wants to eat you!"

"EAT ME?! Waaah!" The girls ducked out of the way, but soon realized they were cornered in an alley.

"Nice going!"

"Shuddup! It's your fault anyways! If you didn't spend so much time wallowing and actually shoved your talent down people's throats, this wouldn't happen!" Seira snapped, realizing that 'shoving into their ears' would have been more appropriate. Liliette was silent. The otter was done with 'girl talk' and tried to move for the kill.

"Seira!"

"Aah! A talking flying grey baby!"

"I think you can try Aries Temper Flash again!"

"Really? Ok...Aries Temper Flash!" It was enough to stun the otter, but not enough to defeat it. "Oh no..."

"...You really think so?"

"Huh?"

"You really think I have what it takes?" Liliette asked quietly.

"Um..."

"Does this seem like the time for a heart-to-heart, girls?"

"Well...yeah. Definitely." Seira was agreeing with Liliette, not talking to Sirus. Liliette smiled a little.

"I think otters have sensitive hearing..." Liliette took a deep breath, and then belted out a high C. The otter reeled in pain.

"It needs to be defeated by a Zodiac...what's your birthday?"

"Me? September 4th."

"I was born on a 4th too!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, really! Now?"

"Sorry." The two girls apologized.

"Seira, take out your Nova!" Seira obeyed. "Press the Temper Core app."

"This?" Seira pressed it and the top of the phone lit up with a white tip. "Aim it at Liliette's stomach."

"Stomach?!" The two girls asked.

"You're a Virgo. Stomach is their weak spot. Now hurry before the otter comes too."

"Wait, what's going on?" Liliette asked, looking at Seira nervously. Seira only shrugged and pointed the beam at Liliette's belly button. A white light shone into it and made a green mark on contact.

"Ow!" Liliette clutched her stomach in pain. "That hurt!"

"Sorry!"

"Now, we got this! Try doing what you do best!"

"Uh...singing...?" Seira shrugged. "Ok...let's try this...Virgo Earth Song!" Liliette proceeded to sing a series of notes into the air. The earth underneath the otter shook until roots came out and grabbed the otter, effectively vanquishing it. Seira and Liliette stared at it.

"That's Virgo, an Earth sign by the way, if you're keeping score."

"I got that thanks."

"What's going on?" Liliette asked, blinking.

"Looks like we have our first henchman!"

"Henchman?!" Seira and Liliette asked at the same time.

"Ah, this is an important step in your rise to be the Zoidiakos leader. I feel good about today."

"I told you I don't want to be the leader of some mafia-like group!"

"MAFIA?!"

"I'm going to go report this now!" Sirus popped away, leaving Seira and Liliette alone.

"Uh..." Seira sighed.

"There's tea at my house. I'll explain..."

* * *

After writing 4 verses of teen pop-like lyrics, I'm starting to feel a little bit dirty mentally. I guess I'll use some tea to clean out my system.

Also, if you haven't listened to "Nobody's Supposed to be Here", you should put that on your list. Deborah Cox has amazing range, and I was thinking Liliette's voice would be around a mix between her, Tamia, and Leah LaBelle.

Ciao for now!

_Mizuki Sakura_


	4. Chapter 2

Happy New Year!

This chapter took longer than I expect because I'm no good at drama. But the regularly scheduled comedy will resume soon!

* * *

Liliette gasped in surprise as they arrived at Seira's house.

"Your house is so cute!" she cooed. Seira didn't really understand what was 'cute' about it. It had two floors, an attic, and a basement, but the house was still pretty narrow. The first floor consisted of a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and a sun porch. The upper floors had Seira's room, her dad's room, a master bathroom, and a closet they mostly used for the boxes when they moved in, but they believed it was a towel closet at some point. Both that attic and the basement were generally unused because they were pretty dirty, and neither felt the need to clean it. Tai also had two dog beds-one downstairs and one in her dad's room.

"Um...thanks, I guess. Here, follow me." She took Liliette to the living room and gave her free range of the television. She then went back to the kitchen. She started to hot water, and decided that Liliette would probably like sweet tea-but not too sweet. She ended up picking a more fruit-base green tea. She put the warm tea cups on a tray and went back to the living room when Liliette just squealed in delight.

"They're playing my song!" She cheered.

"Yeah, I mean, you obviously still have fans."

"Well, here, yeah. But I mean, it's so hard to go anywhere in L.A. or San Fran when all you hear is 'pick me', 'pick me'." Liliette snorted a bit, but then happily accepted the tea cup. "So, uh, what's with the talking baby and the mafia and whatever?"

"I honestly have no idea myself. All I know if that I have to become the next leader of an organization that I didn't hear of until three weeks ago." She then went on to explain the past couple of days.

"Hmm." Liliette was quiet for a moment, unnerving Seira. Suddenly, she giggled, soon becoming full on laughter. "That sounds like fun!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I mean, heading a whole organization like that-you can pretty much get anything you want, go anywhere you want, and taking out those core-thingies must be a good stress reliever! And besides, who doesn't fantasize about being the head of an all-powerful organization?" Seira didn't have anything to say. She wasn't expecting that response from Liliette of all people. And it wasn't like Liliette was wrong-many of the games Seira played had to do with rising to power of an ailing kingdom, or the reward was to marry the princess, or the suddenly became an all-powerful hero. But they were games. They were mean to indulge fantasy, not real life. "Wait, so, if you're the head, what's my job?"

"Good question!" Sirus popped out of nowhere again, making Liliette yelp and nearly spill her tea. Seira only jumped a tad, starting to adjust to Sirus' bad habit.

_One day he's going to use the door..._She hoped.

"Anyways, I was just talking to Kassab, and he approves of you Liliette!"

"Kassab...?"

"He's the guy who's running things now." Seira explained.

"That's right. Anyways, your job is that of the Virgo Representative. Your first and primary mission is to protect the next generation leader of the Zodiakos, Seira. The mark on your stomach is proof of that."

"Mark?" Both Liliette and Seira remembered at the same time how Liliette was able to defeat the Taboo Core-by getting shot with a beam from Seira's phone. Liliette slowly lifted up her shirt to see her stomach, but nothing was there. They both looked up at Sirus.

"You have to really want it to show up." Sirus explained. Liliette's petite face scrunched up a bit to show she was focusing, and soon, an M with a fourth vertical line swinging back to cross over the third one-the mark of Virgo.

"Woah! Cool! Hey, Seira, let me see yours!"

"Mine?" Seira blinked. Sirus hadn't mentioned anything about her own mark. After all, she didn't shoot herself with a cellphone.

"Not important right now." Sirus handwaved it. "I have something for you on behalf of the Zoidiakos." Sirus snapped his fingers, and a microphone appeared out of hammerspace and floated down to Liliette. "This will serve to amplify your Virgo Earth Song, though the batteries are only good twice a day."

"Hey, how come she gets two shots, and I get one?"

"You got two shots today, didn't you?"

"Yeah, and you got the really cool cellphone!" Liliette agreed.

"Yes, but at what cost?"

"I'm home!" Suddenly, Mr. Reymond's voice shouted through the house. Tai barked eagerly to greet him and Sirus popped away. "Seira, are you here?"

"Ah, right here, Dad!" Mr. Reymond walked to the living room.

"Oh, there you are, Sei-oh." At first Mr. Reymond didn't know how to react.

"This is-"

"Hi, I'm Seira's friend, Liliette!" Liliette jumped off the couch to shake hands with Mr. Reymond.

"Oh, hi, Liliette. I'm her father. You can call me Mr. Reymond."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Reymond."

"So, would you girls like any tea or..."

"No, it's fine, Mr. Reymond. Seira just made some and I should be heading back soon. I'll see you back at school, Seira."

"Oh, ok. Bye." Mr. Reymond kindly showed Liliette the door before returning to his daughter.

"Seira...is everything ok? This time..."

"It's fine, Dad." Mr. Reymond still didn't look convinced, but sighed.

"Alright, if you say so."

On Monday morning, Seira woke up at the same time she always did, but something was weird. She could hear laughter coming from a female of some sorts downstairs. Confused, Seira slowly crept down the stairs where she heard her father finishing up a line.

"And that's why I call her 'Nini'."

"Aww, that's so cute!" Seira recognized that poppy voice as she walked into the kitchen. Sure enough, her dad was just having tea with Liliette, whose hair was bouncing as she giggled.

"Liliette?"

"Oh, hey, Seira! Ready for school?"

"Well, not yet, but...I mean, I have to get dressed and..."

"Oh, no rush. I'll wait. By the way, Mr. Reymond, what did you say this tea was called?"

"It's 'rooibos'. It's also known as 'red tea'."

"Oh, I think they had this on a latte menu at Skybean!"

"I'm...gonna go change now..." Seira murmured as she headed back upstairs. She was still confused on why Liliette was here, but quickly changed into jeans and a beige t-shirt with a black dragon on it. She went back downstairs and fixed herself a bowl of cereal. Liliette looked at her as she did so. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no! It's nothing." Liliette took another sip of her tea as Seira tidily ate her cereal as quickly as possible as not to embarrass herself. Soon, Liliette and Seira were off to school together.

Seira found herself stuck for conversation. She'd never really gone from her house to school together with someone before. She became really nervous, but decided to start from square one.

"Um, Liliette?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you come to get me for school?"

"Huh? Well, why not? We're friends, right?"

"Really?"

"What do you mean 'really'?" Liliette laughed as she hit Seira on the back playfully. "Nothing says friendship like fighting a mutated otter together!"

"I...I guess. But, I mean, I don't want you to feel forced or anything."

"Of course I'm not forced, silly! Actually, I just finished singing a while ago, and thought I should use the time to go visit you."

"Oh, I see...Wait, you _just_ finished singing?!"

"Yep! I was practicing all weekend!" Seira was agape. She did want Liliette to do more with her singing but she wasn't expecting that.

"I have to think of a way to thank you though." Liliette added. "It's thanks to you I'm back on track."

"What? But I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did!" Liliette suddenly looked at Seira face to face. "You scolded me when I needed it. That was really important to me."

"Oh, ok...thanks-I mean, you're welcome."

"Yep!"

Soon, Seira and Liliette arrived at school, and walked all the way to their first period class together. They sat in their seats, and Liliette finished her story about how she met the new rapper G-Bread for the first time. Seira was only semi-listening. The whole way, students whispered around them. Perhaps Liliette was used to it, but it greatly unnerved Seira.

"Seira." Seira and Liliette turned to see Jane beckoning Seira from the hallway. There was still a little time before class started so Seira went to see what Jane wanted.

"Is it true?!" Jane asked Seira. Seira was a little startled and asked what Jane meant. "That you and Lily are totally BFFs now!"

"Wha..."

"There's this whole thing about you two leaving Maryjo's party together and then you walk all the way to school too!" Seira wanted to ask who Maryjo was, but decided that that wasn't the issue.

"I...don't know about 'BFFs', but I mean we are friends now...I guess."

"Good enough!"

"Good enough...?"

"Introduce me!" Jane dragged Seira back in the classroom. She then started to smile in a nervous way as Seira cleared her throat.

"Liliette, this is Jane. She's the one who let me hear your songs for the first time."

"I'm a really big fan, Lily! You have so much more talent than any other singer, really!"

"Thanks, Jane. It's nice to meet you, too."

Class started soon, and Seira expected everything to mellow out, as she didn't share another class with Liliette. However, suddenly wave after wave of people started approaching her, asking her all sorts of things about Liliette. Most questions Seira couldn't answer and miserably made her way to lunch. Rather than going to the lunch room, she went straight to her math classroom instead. No one would be in a math room at lunch, right?

"Seira?" Almost right.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Nicolas."

"Hello." There was a moment when Seira was too surprised to move, then quickly remembered her situation, and quickly closed the door. "Seira, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry! Can I eat lunch here?" There was another silent moment.

"...Why?"

"Uh...because too many people are looking for me right now, and I just need a moment."

"Are you in trouble?"

"No...I mean, they're not looking for me because I'm in trouble. But I'm fine, really. Can I just eat here?" Mr. Nicolas scanned her for another moment, then nodded and went back to what he was doing, which was typing on his laptop. Seira ate as quietly as possible, hoping not to disturb him.

"You know, Seira..." he sighed, making Seira jump up. "If you really have a problem, you can talk to the guidance counselor." Seira couldn't tell if he was trying to kick her out or be helpful.

"No...there's no problem. Am I disturbing you?"

"Not really. Just wanted to be sure." Soon, Seira finished her lunch and took out the stuff she would need for class in a few minutes.

"Seira..."

"Yes?"

"I hope you don't think you can duck in here when you have a problem."

"Huh?" Mr. Nicolas adjusted his glasses.

"This was a one time thing. I hope you can solve your problems soon."

"Yes...yes, sir." Seira hoped she wasn't blushing. It was a little embarrassing to hide in a classroom.

Two minutes before class, Wafai walked in. Instantly, his eyes darted to Seira.

"Why are you here so early?" He asked. Seira always figured that Wafai was the first to class. Seira froze. She didn't want to say 'I was hiding from Liliette's fans'. That would be embarrassing. Then again, she didn't have a reason to lie to Wafai.

"She was helping me organize some papers." Mr. Nicolas said without missing a beat, still looking at his laptop. "I ran into her, so she was helping me out, and she ate lunch here."

"Oh..." Wafai looked a bit defeated as he moved to sit in his chair. Seira was surprised. She wasn't expecting Mr. Nicolas to lie for her. She wasn't even expecting herself to do that. Mr. Nicolas put his laptop away right before the remainder of the class showed up, and began to teach.

After two more classes, school ended. During that time, Seira decided that if she and Liliette were friends, that would mean telling the truth. She decided to try to find and tell Liliette what she felt.

But what did she feel? Yes, suddenly being Liliette's friend was bothersome, but it was because of her fans, not because of Liliette. It wasn't fair to say 'Leave me alone' because other people were bothering her. But it wasn't like she could round up everybody in class and say 'Hey, quit it!'.

So maybe that was what she should tell Liliette.

It wasn't hard to find Liliette. She was often where the biggest crowd was. Seira took a deep breath. It wouldn't be that hard. She would dive in, ask to talk to Liliette, then the two would dive out. Before she could do so, she heard one of the girls talking.

"So...you and Seira aren't friends?"

"Nope! Not at all!"

_What? _Seira stood still.

"So you two coming to school together?"

"Coincidence! There's only so many ways to get to school, right?"

"Then why did you two leave my party in such a rush?"

"My agency paid her money to come get me. They thought sending in one of my classmates would be less stand-outy to the paparazzi." The crowd mumbled in understanding.

"That's why!" The girl who asked about the party laughed. "I thought she was way too unfashionable to be your friend."

"Haha, yeah!" Like that, it was if a magic spell was cast on the campus. As Seira made her way out, no one talked around her about her, and she just left without a word.

_It's fine this way, right? _She asked herself. She had been prepared to be alone anyways.

"Seira! Hey! The CTS is buzzing!" Sirus popped up and yanked on Seira's hair. But Seira didn't reply. "Hey, Seira-hmm? You ok?"

"Huh?" Seira was surprised to see Sirus but couldn't find the energy to react. "Yeah...I'm fine."

"Then why are you about to cry?" Seira was a little surprised and rubbed her eye. Sure enough, a few drops slid out. "Well, you're a teenage girl, so I'm guessing boy problems?"

"You know teenage girls have other problems than boys." Seira said in an annoyed tone. Sirus laughed.

"At least you're more like yourself now." Seira stared at him. Was Sirus actually...concerned about her? "Can't lead an organization with a pepperoni face. Let's go get Liliette and-"

"No, wait!" Seira shouted after Sirus. "I can...I can go fight it myself!" Seira took out her Nova and ran off after the signal.

"Hey, Seira!" Sirus stood still for a moment, unsure of what to do, then flew after Seira, passing by the leaving students.

Seira soon encountered an infected squirrel and sighed in relief it wasn't a Taboo Core.

"Alright! I'll finish this quick! Aries Temper Flash!" Instead of the usual bright light however, more of a small sparkler hit the squirrel. Although both were stunned by the event, the squirrel shrugged it off first and ran off. "Hey, wait!"

"Seira, focus!" Sirus said as he caught up. "Aries' weakness is the head! If your head is all messed up, you can't fight!"

"My head isn't-" Immediately she thought of Liliette's words. She couldn't remember whether or not they were friends.

_No! It doesn't matter! I already determined a while ago that friends are too much trouble..._

_ Then why was I happy when Liliette said we were friends? And sad when she said we weren't?_

_ Why is this confusing?!_

"Virgo Earth Song!" In tune with the melody, huge roots came out to tie down the squirrel.

"Seira!" Seira looked around to see Liliette, who looked exhausted. "Hurry up and finish it!"

"Right! Aries Temper Flash!" The bright beam of light returned and hit the squirrel, curing its infection.

"Yeah! We did it!" Liliette hugged Seira and it was then Seira noted that she was relieved.

"Yeah, but wait, Liliette, why did you come?"

"Why wouldn't I come? We're friends, right?"

"...But I don't want to bother you."

"You? Bother _me?_ Are you kidding? _I_ was the one bothering _you_."

"What?"

"Well, all those people only pestered you because you're my friend, right? So I told them we weren't so they'd leave you alone." Seira let that wave over her head for a moment.

"You told them we weren't friends...because we are friends?"

"Yeah...and when you say it like that it sounds weird, doesn't it?"

"A little." They chuckled together for a bit.

"Yeah, can we can the warm and fuzzies?" Sirus said. "How'd you know we were here, Liliette?"

"I thought you got her, Sirus."

"Well, no..."

-A few minutes earlier-

Liliette finally made her way to Seira's locker, but looked around when she wasn't here.

"She should be done with classes and stuff now, right?" She asked aloud. Liliette walked to the gate and looked around quizzically.

"...You're not looking for a black girl, are you?"

"Huh?" Liliette looked at the guy standing by the gate. He was lightly tanned and had dark hair. He seemed about her age.

"She and some gray baby flew over that way."

"Oh, thank you!" Liliette ran off towards the direction the guy pointed at.

-Now-

"...And that's how I got here!"

"Liliette..."

"Yes?" Suddenly, Sirus popped right into Liliette's face. "Eeek!"

"Are you saying...that guy could _see_ me?"

"Yes...?"

"Alright then, let's regroup! Back to home base!"

"Home base?" Seira and Liliette said together.

"A.K.A. Seira's house!"

"Why my house! Hey!" As the three left, guy behind the tree adjust to get a better view.

"So...'Seira', huh?" He smirked as he walked off.

* * *

Oooh, who's this guy who's that guy? So many mysteries! O.O Tune in next time!

_Mizuki Sakura_


	5. Chapter 3

I think I'm going to try getting one chapter done by the end of each month. At least, while I'm still in school. Yep, seems like a good plan. :)

* * *

Zoidiakos Chapter 3

Seira wasn't sure what exactly she was doing in the library on a Sunday. Her plans for this weekend were simple-to get to the supermarket to buy the last few pieces of candy she could before the prices went up for Halloween. Not to pass out to trick-or-treaters, but to eat for herself. At fourteen, she felt she was a little too old to run around in a silly costume, and too young to run around in their skanky counterparts or give candy to traveling children. But instead, she was in the library patiently waiting for the actor Damon Lunel to return from the bathroom so that she could help him play catch-up.

_So this is what it feels like to be blackmailed_. She thought bitterly.

Two Days Ago

Since they made up, Seira and Liliette often went to their first class together. Liliette's new and improved work ethic proved to be slowly taking a toll on her body, and Seira would have to reach back with her foot to (as gently as possible) kick her leg to wake her up.

"Sorry, Seira." Liliette mumbled, rubbing her eye. Seira nodded in acknowledgment and turned her head back to the classroom where their teacher was discussing the importance of Grecian literature and the Odyssey. As class finally let out, Liliette yawned as the drifted into the hallway.

"Liliette..." Seira cautiously watched her.

"Hmm?"

"That's not the way you usually go, is it?"

"Huh?" Liliette blinked before she realized she was heading towards the exit of the school. "OMZ!"

"Oh em zee?" Seira repeated.

"It's a cooler way to say 'OMG'." Jane replied. Seira just stared blankly.

_When did people start saying OMG?_

"You need to sleep, Lily!" Jane added. Liliette sighed.

"I know, but I can't! I got an offer to sing a song for a movie!"

"A movie? Really?!" Jane's eyes got stars in them, and Seira perked up a bit.

"That's cool-"

"No, it's not! It's for a movie so I have to star in a music video for it."

"Is there a problem?" Jane asked. Liliette sighed.

"It's for Damon Lunel's newest film, "Wa-"

"You're singing a song for "Wake Me Up"?!" Jane squeed in delight. "Damon is totally my star crush right now! He's so cool and handsome and OMZ ARE YOU GOING TO MEET HIM?!"

"That's the problem. I _have_ met him." Liliette snorted as the bell rang. "See you guys later."

"Oh, I wish I could sing. Star in music videos, meet handsome actors..." Jane sighed as she delved in fantasy-land.

"Maybe you can ask her if you can tag alone to her video shoot-" Seira soon noticed that Jane stopped in her tracks.

"That is the best idea since 80 degrees winter vacation." Jane ran up and looked Seira dead in the eye. "You have to go with me."

"What?"

"You're much better friends with Lily than I am! If you ask, I know she'll say yes! Please?!"

"No." Liliette's eyes bulged in fear when she was approached after school was over.

"Why-"

"Why not?!" Jane interruption sounded more whiny than she really wanted.

"Aren't you his fan? You haven't heard any rumors?!"

"Rumors?" Jane and Liliette weren't surprised Seira didn't know anything.

"Damon's a serial lady-killer." Liliette spat.

"He just...casts a wide net, is all." Jane weakly rebutted.

"If you're around, he'll likely try to flirt with you, you won't resist, and you'll get hurt. And if you do resist, even sometimes with a frying pan, he bugs you enough to exhaust all your energy." Seira felt that the frying pan part came from experience.

"Well...Seira's not interested in that sort of thing, right? She'll protect me!" Liliette and Jane both looked at Seira. Liliette's green eyes commanded her to say 'no', while Jane's puppy brown eyes begged for a 'yes'. "I just want to see him, that's it. Promise. I'll be good!"

"I guess...I...just for a few minutes?" Seira compromised.

"Yes! Please! Just twenty minutes!"

"Eeerggg..." Liliette groaned, then looked at Seira. "You promise to keep her out of trouble?"

"Leave it to me." Seira smiled.

The shoot for the music video would resume on Saturday in an on-location in the city. The movie "Wake Me Up" was loosely based on Sleeping Beauty. Instead of being cursed by a vengeful witch, 16-year-old Amelia was hypnotized by her bitter rival in love to sleep forever. Amelia's boyfriend, Brendon, would have to fight through Amelia's nightmares to wake her up again. As a result, the movie was mostly focused on Brendon's point of view.

In response to this story, Liliette wrote a song called "Dream Girl". The music video was mostly her and a random teenage boy, but the end involved the inclusion of the actors of Amelia and Brendon, Anna Thorton and Damon Lunel.

Although Liliette seemed less than thrilled about filming the parts Damon, her professional spirit didn't let it show when she was in front of the lens. Even Seira was impressed with Liliette's performance. Jane was excited to see the shoot, but Seira knew she at least wanted to get a glimpse of Damon.

_I think Liliette timed it so we wouldn't get to see him by the time we leave._

Seira looked at Jane's excited face. She really put a lot more effort in her appearance than she did at school, with her hair curled and her clothes having a more adult air. If she didn't catch Damon's attention, she would certain catch _some_ guy's.

They heard the director yell 'cut', finishing that particular scene. Liliette picked up a water bottle and walked over to where Seira and Jane were, but was intercepted by her manager.

"Lily, Damon will be here in five minutes, so don't forget what we talked abou-"

"He's here already?!" Liliette cried, hoping Seira and Jane (particularly Jane) didn't overhear.

"Well, his interview for Celeb Beat was rescheduled, so remember, Lily. _Keep away from the kitchen utensils._" Her manager gave her a watchful glare before her attention was needed elsewhere. Liliette groaned as Seira and Jane approached her.

"Liliette, are you ok?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? After all, Damon's here..." Liliette muttered.

"He's here?! Right now?! Right now!?"Jane's eyes developed into mini stars.

"Yes, right now." Liliette sighed. "In unrelated news, I am left with this piece of plastic as my only line of defense."

"I...I have to go freshen up! I need to find a mirror! Mirror!" Jane darted off and Liliette moved closer to Seira.

"I think a Virgo Earth Song is in order..."

"Sirus probably frowns on that sort of thing. And besides, I think it only works on infected cores anyways."

"Yeah, well his brain is infected. Isn't that close enough?" A stage hand soon called Liliette to start the next scene.

"I'll go find Jane." Seira offered. Liliette gave a wary look around the set, then nodded and went off. Seira darted through the crowd of people, hoping to get some sort of indication of Jane. When she found her, Jane was digging through her purse anxiously.

"Jane? What's wrong?"

"I can't find my pen!" Jane cried. "I really wanted to get Damon's autograph, and I can't believe I forgot the most important thing!"

"A pen? I think I have one." Seira dug through her mini-backpack-she was trying to resist getting an actual purse-and uncovered a blue ballpoint pen. Jane squealed with delight, snatching the pen.

"Oh, Seira, you're the best!" Jane excitedly threw her arms around Seira's neck, accidentally releasing the pen in the process.

"Ouch!" Seira and Jane looked behind Seira to see a young boy with chestnut covered hair rubbing a blue mark on his cheek. It soon became purple.

"Oh, hey, sorry." Seira apologized, seeing that Jane looked nearly catatonic. "It was an-"

"Damon! Your face!" A woman yelled from afar.

"Damon?" Seira blinked and turned to Jane, who nodded fearfully.

"I cut Damon Lunel's face." She whimpered.

"Who did this?!" The woman approached Damon and cradled his face. Seira noticed they had the same chestnut hair. "We can't shoot like this! Who was the one responsible?!"

"Umm, miss, I'm sorry, but-"

"They went that way." Damon pointed to the far side, looking frightened. "They had a knife and everything too. I was lucky it wasn't worse."

"Call security! Call them right now! Don't they know time is money! And your face is time! And-and-argh!" The woman stormed off looking for the men in blue. At first Seira was relieved, glad that Jane wouldn't get in trouble.

"Now..." Damon bent down and picked up the pen. His face suddenly turned dark. "Whose pen is this?" Seira became as speechless as Jane was. "I don't normally like to get angry at girls, but like my aunt was trying to say, I need my face in top condition if I'm going to make money. I highly doubt she'll go easy on who ever did this." Seira looked at Jane who was near tears.

_Well, technically, he asked whose pen it was..._

"It's my pen." Seira said.

"Yours, huh? Well, listen, Specs." Damon approached her. "I helped you, so now you help me." With an eye of an expert analyst, Damon quickly overviewed her body. "You don't look like someone I could have fun with, but you do look pretty smart." He looked at Jane. "Is she smart?" Jane nodded dumbly. "What grade are you in?"

"Ninth."

"What school? Nah, better yet." Damon used the assault weapon to scribble on a napkin. "Come to this library tomorrow at two. Bring your A+ game." He gave the napkin to Seira as his aunt came back.

"Damon, let's go and get some anti-scar cream on that. They said they'll wait until Monday to finish your parts, ASSUMING IT'S SAFE FROM KNIFE WIELDING FANATICS!"

"All right." Damon agreed. "Just one thing. Go on ahead." Damon turned back to Seira. "So, if you don't want to be the 'knife wielding fanatic', you better show up."

A full minute passed before Jane could speak again.

"Seira?"

"Yes?"

"What...what just happened?"

"I...I think I'm being blackmailed."

"Blackmai-no way! Seira! I was the one who threw that! I scarred my favorite actor's face-oh god-"

"Jane! Snap out of it!" Seira barked, startling the girl. "It's fine...I did say I'd protect you, right? And it was technically my pen..." _Which he didn't even give back..._

"...You're being blackmailed by the celebrity I have a crush on...never thought I'd say that."

"Never thought I'd _hear_ that. Also, more importantly, I don't think we should tell Liliette yet."

"Why not?"

"Because she's probably just looking for an excuse to give that scar a twin. It would ruin her reputation. I'll handle it tomorrow. It'll be fine, ok?"

"Ready to hit the books, Specs?" Damon clapped his hands together, snapping Seira out of her memory.

"My name is 'Seira', not 'specs'."

"Eh, I was close. Anyways, I need you to do some math and some biology for me."

"Do..._for_ you? I'm not going to help you cheat."

"Ah, it's so cute that you think you have a choice. I'm in the same grade as you. It won't be that hard. I saw a cute girl on the other side of the street, so I'll be back in three hours." As Damon turned to leave, Seira quickly snatched his jacket. "...I don't think this is your size."

"I don't think I'm going to cheat for you. But, I will help you learn it."

"Don't-"

"SIT." Seira didn't like being this brash, but since she'd been helping fight the infected cores, she found she was much quicker to temper. Damon's hazel eyes stared into Seira's brown eyes, and couldn't find a single weakness.

"Oh, _fine_." Damon sat opposite her. "You better be a better teach than Ms. Billon."

Damon stared at the math equation. He could almost feel himself sweat.

"Come on. Remember the order of operations. First is-"

"I got it! Um...parentheses?"

"Good..."

"Then...the exponents...so it's 2 times 2 times 2, right? Not 2 times 3."

"Yep."

"So then I add these...and these...so, the answer is 26?"

"That's it!"

"Yes!" Damon sighed in relief. It had been a long 45 minutes. "I think I deserve a study break."

"Sure. How about ten-" Seira's Nova started to go off, earning her a lot of put off stairs. "Maybe twenty?" Seira gave a bad poker face smile and darted off. Even though she could put the phone part of silence, she could yet figure out how to put the CTS on it. She opened up the map and saw one far away Virgo symbol-which was Liliette-and one nearby dark green circle. It was a Taboo Earth Core.

_Good. I can handle this_. She followed the signal to an alley a few blocks away. It was in the shape of a ferret, and Sirus was already there, and opened up the Cosmic Zone.

"Seira, took you long enough!"

"Some of us have things to do on a Sunday!"

"What, buy pre-hype Halloween candy?" Sirus asked.

"Yes-no-not now!" Seira felt the rage flow through her body. "Ready...Aries Temper Flash!" The light expanded out at penetrated the ferret, making it dissolve away.

"Perfect victory! Just what I'd expect from the future leader of the Zoidiakos!" Seira sighed, knowing that she didn't have the time to fight with Sirus. Her watch showed she had 5 minutes to return to the library. It had taken her nearly ten to get here.

"I gotta go!"

"Ah! But wait, Seira!...Crap."

Seira felt good about confidently crossing off professional sprinter from her career list and she stumbled into the library. To her surprise, Damon was already back to the books, a thin layer of sweat over his lightly tanned skin.

"The bell already rang, Teach."

"Yeah, sorry." Seira tried to hold back the puffs as she slid into the chair. "Ok, so remember the order of operations..."

Once all the homework was done, Damon was satisfied enough to agree to drop the blackmail. He told her he wasn't really that type of guy, and he just needed his homework done. Then he quickly darted off after a short skirt with blonde hair. Seira could understand Liliette's annoyance, but felt that deep down, Damon was all right.

Come Monday, Jane brought in a Cheesecake Cupcake from a cupcake store as her apology to Seira. Seira didn't feel that it was necessary, but wouldn't say no to sweets.

"I can't say how sorry I am."

"Jane, it's cool. Nothing bad happened."

"Really?"

"Really."

Liliette was busy because of the music video shoot, so Seira went through the rest of the day inconspicuously. As Seira set out to leave the school, she saw a crowd of girls giggling by the gate. She was only mildly curious and left around them.

"Hey! Hey, wait!" Seira turned around as she recognized the voice. It was Damon, in all his famous glory. "What's up, Teach?"

"Uh...hey, Damon. My name isn't 'Teach' though. It's Seira."

"Oh, really?" Damon reached forward and drew off Seira's glasses. "Interesting." He fingered them out of her reach for a while before putting them on himself. "I thought it was 'Leader of the Zoidiakos', hmm?"

_Crap._

* * *

__Secret identities just aren't what they used to be, huh? Oh well.

_Mizuki Sakura_


	6. Chapter 4

I know I said at the end of every month, and this was done by the end of the month. I was thinking "Oh, I'll just post it tomorrow (which was March 30th)", but I ended being even sicker than I was. -.- Sorry about that.

Anyhoo, I was a little feverish when I wrote this so I don't feel like this is my best, but oh well!

* * *

"What did he say?"

"Zodiac?"

"Is that for a new movie or something?"

"Hey, wasn't she that girl that also crashed that pool party?"

"You know, your eyes are really bad." Damon continued, waving her glasses around. "Can you even see _with _them?" Without wasting another second, Seira snatched back her glasses, grabbed Damon's arm, dragged him away from the crowd. Since school was over, she knew there was one spot that was certain to be free at this time-the old gym.

The old gym wasn't so much old as a predecessor to the new gym. The room was still in decent shape, although most of the equipment was transferred to the new one. As she dragged Damon there, she fumbled around her Nova, hoping that Sirus listed himself as a contact member. He wasn't. Then again, where would he even keep a cell phone on him?

The lights were off in the old gym, but the door was unlocked per school policy. The windows let in an ample amount of sunlight so it was easy to look around.

"Looks like you really wanted to be alone with me." Damon observed.

"Well, that was the point." There was a moment. "Not like that! It's just I had a bad experience with rumors like a week ago, and I don't want anymore to start because you came and said something ridiculous!"

"First: Being alone with a handsome young actor _won't_ start rumors? And two, was it really more ridiculous sounding than 'Aries Temper Flash'?" Seira didn't think that it could get more humiliating to hear the words she already felt were pretty embarrassing, except Damon also mimicked her movements. She would find a way to deal with the first point later.

"Well, look! You just...can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Eh? Why not? It's not like some secret magical girl thing is it?"

"N-no! It's, uh...it's..."

"Space Case?" Seira and Damon looked to see Ryan coming out from the storage area. "What are you doing here?"

"Space Case?" Damon repeated.

"Um...nothing! What about you?"

"I came to get some ball bins for Mr. Furth..." Ryan took a better look at Damon. "Oh, hey! You're that guy! Uh...you played in _Streak_, right?"

"That was Charles Keys." Damon spat. It wasn't a secret that _Streak _was a complete flop, but the only thing Keys and Damon had in common was the fact they had brown hair.

"Ah, sorry. Anyways, Spacey, can you help carry some?"

"Uh...sure, I'll be right there!"

"Cool. I'll wait for you outside." Ryan gave another look to Damon and then went outside the door. Seira stacked one ball bin on top of the other and lifted them both.

"Hey, wait! Don't think that I'm blackmailing you or something! I just want to hang out!"

"...Hang out?"

"Yeah." Damon moved in front of her. "Give me your number."

"If I do, you have to promise not to tell anyone!"

"Scout's honor."

"_Are_ you a scout?" Damon grinned wickedly. "Damon!"

"Okay, okay. I won't tell. Really." Seira gave Damon a wary look, then gave him her number. She then went to join Ryan outside.

"He _what?!"_ Liliette stood out of her chair, nearly knocking over her tea cup.

"Yeah...uh...it's Sirus' fault!" Seira stated. After she had helped out Ryan, she had called Liliette and told her it was a...sort of emergency. A short while later she came and Seira had explained everything.

"How? And why _him_ of all people?! I would trust Perez Hilton with a secret more than Damon!"

"I...don't know who that is."

"It doesn't matter! So, what? Is he going to blackmail you or something?"

"He says he just wants to hang out."

"Hang out?! Seira, girls and guys just don't 'hang out'. He wants to date you!"

"Then he would have said that, wouldn't he? And besides, we hang out. It's the same."

"No, it's-urrgh, Seira! Haven't you had the puberty talk yet?"

"I think we're getting off topic."

"Oh, uh, well...how is it Sirus' fault?"

"I don't know. Maybe something happened when he opened the Cosmic Zone."

"Hmm...well, now that I think of it, I was able to be in the Cosmic Zone too, even before I was Virgo. Maybe certain types of people can bypass it."

"What brings this up?"

"Ah!" Both Seira and Liliette jumped to see Sirus chomping on a cookie.

"You shouldn't freak out about every little thing."

"Sirus, the Zoidiakos are a mafia, right? Do they order hits and stuff?"

"Liliette!"

"It's not the mafia. But yes, sometimes assassinations are necessary. Why? There's someone you want to rub out?"

_You say it's not the mafia then use their terminology..._Seira thought.

"Well, I rather we just scare him a little-" Liliette's phone started to chime. "Ah, shoot it's work. I have to get back. Oh, yeah, Seira, can you email me your English notes?"

"Sure."

"Thanks! You're the best! We'll talk later, Sirus!" Liliette picked up her bag and ran off.

"So, what's Liliette talking about?"

"Well, it's just...So, what are the rules about the Cosmic Zone anyway?"

"I never explained?"

"No."

"Oh, sorry. Well, anyway, the Cosmic Zone is a sense a layer of reality. When a core becomes open, they have the ability to appear in the Cosmic Zone. Open cores include Guardian cores like yours and Liliette's, infected cores, and cores that are highly susceptible to an infection. Infected cores become stuck in the Cosmic Zone and can only be seen by those who can traverse it. Because they can't affect reality directly, they seek to infect other cores."

"So...the infected cores make other cores susceptible to infection, they sink into the Cosmic Zone...and so the cycle continues-like a virus?"

"Right. Guardian cores are tempered in a way that allows them to fight and ward off infected cores."

"We're essentially antibodies."

"I don't know why you're using human body analogies, but yes, sure, why not. Anyways, this is what makes Taboo Cores even more dangerous, because they can slip in and out of the Cosmic Zone and cause actual damage. Furthermore, they can only be confronted by another Taboo core-although _highly_ unlikely-or a Guardian core."

"I see...so what does this have to do with the Zoidiakos?"

"I told you someone was making Taboo Cores, right? We're hoping that by defeating the Taboo cores we can find out who's making them too."

"So, then why me? Don't you have special agents or something?"

"Well, one, a core has to be open to be a Guardian core, and we're not quite sure that can make a core open yet. It's more of a random chance thing, but negative emotions are correlated with it. And second, only a descendant of the Zoidiakos family can make these cores into Guardians, _if_ that core actually has the potential. And well, you were nominated for the job because you needed some way to prove yourself to the family."

_But I don't wanna join the family..._

"Oh, wait!"

"Hmm?"

"What if...I find a person whose core is open...what do I do?"

"What? Well..." Sirus stuffed another cookie into his mouth. "These are delicious. What are these?"

"Chips Ahoy?"

"Mmm, good! I'm sorry, what were we talking about?"

"How to fix an open core."

"Right. Honestly, it's like any other wound. You have to wait for it to close on it's own."

The following weekend, Damon called out Seira to South L. She was still sleeping at 11 A.M. when she got the text from Damon:

_**Hey _ let's meet Black It in 1 hour!**_

_ Why would he use an underscore?_ Seira thought before sleepily realizing the time. She sighed and wrestled with whether or not she should take a shower, or if she even had time. In the end, she settled for a brief wash, then put on a long sleeve shirt with "Japanese: Jane went to school Monkey Apple Carbeurator" written on it and some jeans.

"Hey, dad, I'm off!"

"Where are you going? Do you want breakfast?"

"I'll eat on the way!"

"Oh, can you pick up some soy milk?!"

"Okay!"

Seira was grateful that the Nova had a GPS as well as its CTS. She preferred to stay in her room on weekends, so she never really got used to the layout of the town.

"Space Bar! Over here!"

"Space bar?" Seira looked around to see Damon waving at her. He was wearing a cap and sunglasses, as well as some typical up-to-date fashion. "Why did you call me 'Space Bar'?"

"Isn't that your nickname?"

"It's Space _Case_-and that's not my nickname!"

"Hmm. I like Space Bar."

"It doesn't make any sense though..."

"Anyway, here." Damon gave her one of Black It's trademark black cups. "You don't look like you had your coffee yet."

"Oh...thanks, but I actually don't drink coffee." Damon looked genuinely surprised, as though he thought everyone drank coffee.

"Really? Is that a magical girl thing?"

"I'm not a magical girl. Or magical anything. And it's not an anything thing. I think."

"Hmm. Well, give it here." Damon took it back and started to drink it himself. "Ah, nothing like a third cup. So, what do you do?"

"Do? Well, I mostly drink tea or-"

"In your day! In your free time! Are you going to fight more monsters?" When he said that, Seira remembered what Sirus said-that Damon's core was open.

_I wonder if there is a faster way to close it...he doesn't look depressed or anything like Liliette was._

"Uh...I mostly just play video games."

"Really? That's a little boring."

"Sorry I'm not exciting."

"Eh, I'll just help you then." Seira wasn't sure if Damon chose to ignore her sarcasm or simply didn't pick it up.

After getting a bagel and some tea at Black It, Damon got Seira to follow him to the nearby shopping area.

"Let's just go shopping then." Damon took her to a few different stores and they just went in and out for a while, until Seira spotted a dark green beaded t-shirt. "You like that?"

"Huh? No, I was just think it's more of Liliet-eh." Seira froze with the thought that Liliette probably wouldn't like Damon to know she and her were friends, but it was already too late.

"Liliette's style, huh? I thought she was more the bright, bubbly blonde type. You know, the girls that like to wear shirts that can be seen from Kansas."

"Well, she dresses like this on her days off."

"Hmm. Well, let's get it then."

"What?"

"You think she'll like it, right? Let's go find a register."

"Wait!" Seira tried to keep up with Damon's stride. "At least let me pay half." _That way I can tell Liliette it was from me and not be completely lying_.

After they left the store, they wandered around a bit more to the more tech-oriented part of town, passing arcades, electronic stores, and finally a CD store.

"I'm surprised they still exist." Damon retorted.

"Do you want to go in?" Damon shrugged but walked in anyways. "Do you like any sort of music?"

"Not really. I don't have much time." They just wandered through the aisles as the store radio played.

"_And now, for Lily's newest hit 'Dream Girl' from the movie 'Beauty's Nightmare'"_

As Liliette's voice rang through the store, Seira bumped into Damon, who stood still. He wasn't really looking at anything, but was just silently listening to it.

"Um...Damon?"

"Huh?" Damon jumped up, forgetting where he was. "What is it?"

"Are you ok?"

"Uh...yeah, sure, whatever." Damon sighed. "Ready?"

"Sure..." Suddenly, Seira's Nova started to beep with its CTS alarm. One day, Seira would know how to change that annoying tune. She took out her phone and saw a red circle in front of a nearby building.

"What's this do?"

"Uh...it's..."

"Oh, I know! It's part of your super-magic-whatever, right?" Damon looked excited. "Let's go!"

"No! You can't go!"

"Why not?"

"Because-and it feels weird even saying it-but-"

"Weirder than 'Aries Temper Flash'?" Seira couldn't help freezing. The more she heard it from others, the worse it sounded. "Come on, we have to hurry, right?" Damon took Seira's arm and dragged her out the store. Seira felt that no matter what she did, Damon would tag along anyways...

By the time they got there, the Taboo Core had gotten otherwise occupied with another combatant-who wasn't doing very well. The red snake hissed, ready to put to final blow. Roots laid burned around the scene as Liliette tried to catch her breath.

"Liliette!"

"Seira!...Damon?!" Liliette's expression seemed to match the snake.

"Liliette's a magical girl too?!"

"We're not magical girls!" They both shouted. The snake gave a loud hiss and prepared to do for a second time a fire breathing move.

"Liliette, look out!" Seira warned. "Aries Temper Flash!" The force pushed the snake away and seemed to stun it. "Are you ok?"

"Does getting my butt beat count as 'okay'?" Liliette seemed in an even worse mood than just losing. "Why did you drag him here?"

"Strangely, it was the other way-"

"Um...guys?" Damon pointed at the snake that not only seemed fine, but more powerful too.

"Of course." Liliette muttered. "I'm useless, and you made him stronger."

"...Oops."

"Don't you have anyone else in your team that could help?" Damon asked.

"Do we?"

"No." The snake darted towards them, making them all fall on the ground. Seira's mind buzzed around for an idea, when it came to her. Liliette wouldn't like it though.

"What are you thinking?" Liliette's suspicious tone made Seira know that she knew that she was thinking something she would't like, she thought (English is fun!).

"Well...Damon...we might need your help."

"What?"

"No." Liliette's eyes opened wide. "No no no, a thousand times no. My vote is for _never_."

"And so, you'd rather die to a fire snake?"

"That does seem like an awesome way to go." Damon added. Liliette gave him a death glare.

"Um...let's see..." Trying to work the Nova while running away from the snake wasn't all fun. "Ah, here it is! Temper Core! Ok, Damon! You need to stand still." Seira prepared to aim for the stomach, like she did with Liliette. "Ok...wah!" Suddenly, a weird pressure caused Seira to fall forward a bit...and aim the beam right by Damon's upper right pelvis. Damon's breath caught as he imagined a near castrating scenario.

"What just happened?" Damon squeaked out.

"Damon, do something!" Seira and Liliette ducked from the now much bigger fire shoot out.

"Like what?!" Damon's mind wandered until his mind caught onto the words: "Scorpio Poison Rain!" A rain cloud appeared over the snake, and then pelted it with an odd purple liquid. The snake writhed for a few moments before finally disappearing. There was a moment of silence until Damon turned to Seira. "I am so sorry for every making fun of you about that battle cry thing."

"As you should be." Seira then turned to a speechless and steaming Liliette. "So, we bought something for you today-Aw crap, Soy milk!"

The next day, Seira invited Liliette over to her house, hoping she would calm down. She wasn't.

"You know we didn't have a choice."

"It was luck! Pure luck that he happened to have a water-based power."

"I know it was, but still...why do you hate Damon so much?"

"Because his ego and tenacity are the size of East Texas. I just don't like people like that." Seira sighed. As they were giving Liliette her present, Damon did try to hit on her-_again_.

_Maybe the hole was open from being rejected so many times when he's not used to it..._Seira reasoned. She chose not to share with Liliette that she may have caused Damon to join them in the first place.

"Well, at least we won't have to see him very often." Liliette sighed as she had some more tea while the doorbell rang. "Ah, school is my sanctuary."

"I'll get it." Seira opened the door.

"Hey, Mars Bar!" Came Damon's voice.

"It's Space Ba-I mean, no. My name is Seira, and what are you doing here?" _And why am I Mars bar now?!_

"I was invited. You house is sort of on the narrow side, huh?" Damon walked past her and strode in. "Oh, hey, Lily! You know, I was just thinking-"

"No."

"But I just-"

"No."

"You should be nice to your fellow teammate, you know." Sirus once again popped up from no where.

"Sirus! There was a taboo core yesterday! Where were you-"

"I was there." Sirus stated. "You need to learn to fight your battles without me, Seira." _Isn't that what I do anyways?_ "But, I made sure you aimed at the right spot yesterday."

"The right spot...?"

"That's right. I knew from that show your dad watches that his birthday was November 12. That puts his core weakness at his reproductive organs." A weird silence flew over the room. "You know, his pe-"

"We know!" Seira finished the sentence. "So did you invite him, Sirus?"

"Yep! You already have two henchmen, Seira, so Kassab wanted me to give this to you." Sirus gave her a silver key.

"What's this?"

"It's a skeleton key."

"Cool! Can I have it?" Damon asked.

"No!" Seira kept it out of his reach and Damon muttered about him not getting anything.

"Anyways, it can open anything. Use it as you like. And finally a message for Liliette and Damon. While you have your own busy schedules, you have to remember something-Seira is the next head of the Zoidiakos. She's worth more than your insignificant popularity fests." Liliette and Damon were in a stunned silence. "...So, end quote."

"That was a quote?!" Liliette wasn't sure if she was relieved or angry.

"Oh, and also, Damon." Sirus turned to him. "It's very important that you are close to Seira, so we arranged your transfer into Comet Bay-"

"Nooooooooo!" Liliette cried.

-Somewhere in an undisclosed location-

A man quickly pressed buttons on a machine, prompting it to lower a glass cage around a small fish tank. The fish continued being fish, not quite understanding what was happening.

"Heeheehee..." The man gave an evil grin, adjusting his thick frames as he pressed a blue button. The process began and the bodies of the fishes strecthed, as if they were becoming too big for their scales. Soon, all that was left were three big glowing blue fish, angrily pushing against the glass for freedom, no longer needing the broken fish tank. "Ah yes...I'm getting closer...Heeheehee...AHHAHAHAHAH!"

* * *

Oooh, a mad scientist! They're always guaranteed for a good time.

Although this ended with Liliette's worst nightmare, part of me wants Liliette and Damon to end up together, if only because my parents are those zodiac signs. Well, we'll see.

_Sakura Mizuki_


	7. Chapter 5

And now, Chapter 5! I focus a lot on Damon in this one, but it's temporary, I promise!

* * *

Naturally, Damon's transfer resparked the celeb buzz through Comet Bay High. Naturally, Damon was surrounded by flocks of excited high school girls-not that it was unusual.

Seira and Jane watched as Liliette harshly crunched on her carrot salad. The crunching became louder as Damon and his fans thundered through the cafeteria.

"It's ok, Lily. I think you're way cooler than Damon." Jane said in an assuring tone.

"Thanks." Liliette managed to crunch out. Seira sighed. Perhaps it was a mix of the past few days-that now suddenly her plague (her words, not Seira's) was _everywhere-_school, work due to the interviews for "Wake Me Up", and now even with fighting cores, which was supposed to be her stress buster. And then taking her fans' attention was probably a part of it too.

"Hey, ladies." Liliette jumped, being too focused on her meal to realize Damon. "I was wondering if you wanted to join us?" By 'us', Damon meant the fans over by the other table.

"I'm fine."

"Ummm..."

"Sure!" Seira and Liliette heads snapped by how fast Jane agreed. "Sorry, I've just always wanted an autograph. You're still awesome, Lily." Jane pranced over to Damon's table to join the group of squealing girls.

"Oh, yeah, I came up with a good idea the other day." Damon slid into the seat Jane left empty, next to Seira. "We should have a base."

"A base?" Seira and Liliette said.

"Yeah. If we're supposed to track down the core problem, we need a place of operations."

"We've been using Seira's house."

"Yeah, but her dad lives there. What if he accidentally stumbles on any evidence we find? We need to meet somewhere not suspicious, where celebrities and normal people can meet up without it being weird."

"Damon, are you coming back?" The crowd began to get restless.

"Oh, looks like I gotta go. See you two later!" Damon strode back to his fans, leaving Liliette and Seira. Liliette was planning to just return to her meal, when she noticed the mildly impressed expression on Seira's face.

"Oh, you think he's right, don't you?"

"Well...don't you? A little?" Liliette mumbled.

"Gaah, fine. But where would we get a place like that?"

"What about your or Damon's houses?"

"Are you kidding? You are one thing, but if Damon and I were photographed leaving each other's houses, there would be no end to the gossip!"

"Oh. Well, I need to head over to library to look for some Greek literature books."

"Okay. See you later." Seira got her stuff together and walked out of the cafeteria, sighing. She didn't want to worry Liliette, but she was still concerned with the hole in Damon's core. She looked at her Nova. After all her fiddling with it, there was no feature to examine cores directly. She would have to ask Sirus about adding that as an update.

"Ow!"

"Ah!" Seira phone flew out her hand as she bumped into somebody. "Sorry..." The guy's hair was brown and messy to his shoulders, and his eyes were behind thick glasses, but from her angle, they looked like a dark shade of green.

"Yeah..." The phone fell down and into the guy's hand. Like it was toxic, he gasped and thrust the phone back into Seira's hands, his tone changing. "Watch where you're going next time!"

"Uh...sorry?" Seira watched him quickly walk down the turn, then looked back at her phone. The screen was no longer shining brightly. "It's off?" Seira tried pressing the on button, but it was no use. "Is it broken?"

"The hallway isn't a seat, Seira."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Mr. Nicolas." Seira quickly got up and put her Nova in her pocket

"It's a little early if you're heading for my class."

"Oh, no, I'm going to the library."

"Studying?"

"I need a book for my literature report."

"I see." There was a pause that felt uncomfortable to Seira. She wondered by the math classroom and the library were the same direction.

"So...um...what books do you like to read?"

"I prefer non-fiction books. Science journals, math theories, historical analysis."

"Oh." Seira found herself not very surprised. Mr. Nicolas did seem like that sort of person. Finally, they arrived at Mr. Nicolas' classroom.

"Ah, Seira, I almost forgot. Are you in a club?"

"Club? No."

"Ms. Oakley's recruiting for her math club again. She wanted me to scout you. Don't be late for class." With that, Mr. Nicolas closed the door.

"It's broken?!"

"Um...yeah." Seira sheepishly sat as Sirus looked quite distressed.

"How?! It's supposed to survive even getting run over!"

_So if I ever get hit by a car, at least the phone would survive?_ Seira thought, taking a bite of the crepe her dad saved for her after-school snack.

"What did you do to it?!"

"Nothing! I was walking, I bumped into someone, it fell in their hands and next thing I knew, it wouldn't turn on!"

"Did they do anything to it?"

"He gave it back to me immediately. There wasn't anytime for him to do anything." Sirus groaned.

"How did this happen?...Well, there's only one thing to do now."

"What?"

"Go to Damon's house."

"Go to...why?"

"Why not?"

"Because he might be busy and it's not like I can call him now!"

"Come on, let's go." Sirus tugged on Seira's arm. He was stronger than he looked. Defeated, Seira went along with it.

Damon lived in an apartment with just him and his aunt in a very upscale building. Seira felt out of place just being around here.

"I don't like being here by myself..."

"It's not like Damon's going to attack you or something. You're not his type."

"Uhh..." Sirus knocked on the door and they waited in silence. Soon, Damon opened the door.

"Seira? What are you doing here?"

"Wow, this place is nice!" Sirus floated in immediately. "You should move somewhere like this, Seira."

"Sorry if we're interrupting something."

"No, it's...it's fine for now." Damon let Seira inside. "Want something to drink?"

"Um, I'm ok-"

"Oh, do you have that fizzy dark stuff?"

"Um...Coke? I think." Damon led them to the sitting area as he went to the refrigerator. Seira sat down, but suddenly remembered her last encounter with Damon's aunt.

"Is your aunt here?"

"No, she has a meeting with a director."

"She's really busy, huh?"

"Well, she has more time now since I transferred to Comet Bay."

"It was hard to convince her, huh?" Sirus asked. "Our agents had to spend a lot of time with her." Neither Seira or Damon wanted to know exactly what methods were used.

"Well, it's really just the two of us." Damon gave Sirus a can of Coca-Cola. I had a home tutor on the weekdays and she would review with me on the weekends or when the tutor couldn't make it. Now, she doesn't have to worry about that."

"Why wouldn't she want you to attend school then?"

"She's probably just worried about...ah...so, why'd you come?" Seira looked at Sirus who was gulping down the soda. They sat in silence as they watched him.

"Ah, that was good. So, here." Sirus snapped his fingers and a small rectangular device showed up. "It's for you. It's called Water Sting. You can use it to place poisonous water mines within a half mile radius."

"Cool!" Damon held the silver colored edges to look at the thin GPS map in between. "So, I can just tap and set?"

"That's right-but it can only show up on the cosmic zone."

"Oh..." Damon looked disappointed, which unnerved Seira. Suddenly, footsteps stated to come closer.

"Well, I'm out." Sirus popped away, leaving a shocked Seira.

"Sirus, what about me-"

"Shit...we gotta hide you."

"What? Hide me? Why?" But it was too late.

"Damon, I'm back!" Damon cursed under his breath, giving up. "Can you believe that director wanted..." Damon's aunt trailed off as she looked straight at Seira. There was an uncomfortable silence. "Damon, is she-"

"A girl from school! She was giving me one of the books we need for class." Damon picked up a random book that was on the coffee table to show. "That was it, she's leaving now, bye bye random girl!" Damon pushed Seira past his aunt and out the door. "See you at school." He whispered and closed the door behind him. Seira just stared at it for a while.

"That was...weird." She said out loud to herself. _Sirus didn't have to abandon me though. I mean, what's with him?_

"Damon! Damon!" Seira turned around to see Damon run out the other way, which was actually the correct way to the elevator. Seira watched in confusion as Damon stormed down the stairs, ignoring his aunts pleads. Suddenly, like a radar, the aunt turned to Seira, fury in her eyes.

"Who are you really to Damon?" She hissed. "I'm letting you know, he has no time for fans or girls or anything!"

"...I'm just a classmate." Seira could feel her body shrinking in front of Damon's aunt. Although not satisfied, Damon's aunt ran towards the stairs, calling Damon's name. Seira felt awkward about taking the elevator, but she didn't have much of a choice to get home.

She was a little grateful the Nova wasn't already working because she was soon confronted by a sudden downpour the moment she got outside, and she wouldn't have to worry about unlikely water damage.

_Damon didn't look like he brought a jacket or anything..._Seira was worried, but there wasn't much she could do, not knowing where he went. She decided to just head home.

Seira was happy to come home to her father's spaghetti. He always made it during rainy days, if only because he would be too lethargic to want to really cook. She got in the habit of wanting Italian on these sort of days. Just when they were about to eat, Tai started to bark, mixed with a whimper.

"He must need to pee. Seira?"

"Ok, ok...come on, Tai." Tai happily followed Seira to the door and waited for her to open it. "Just let me get an umbrella."

Due to the rain clouds, the sky looked darker than normal. For Seira, it was hard to believe it was only 7 o'clock, but that was likely because of Daylight Savings. She watched Tai for a while, who never seemed to mind the weather, especially when he needed to pee. As Seira and Tai started to walk for a while, she noticed a familiar figure standing by a street light.

"Damon?" He was leaning against a fence, and still wearing the t-shirt and jeans from earlier, and of course, no umbrella. Naturally, he was drenched. At first he didn't look at Seira, but then slowly turned his head.

"Oh, hey Mars Bar. I thought this place looked familiar." He forced a sort of smile. "Can you believe it? The one time I feel like taking a walk, it rains."

"...Did something happen with your aunt?" Damon looked down and saw Tai looking up at him with big round eyes, and gave a real smile.

"Aw, you needed to go to the bathroom?." Damon rubbed Tai's head affectionately for a while, then sighed. "Did you hear us?"

"I only saw you run out."

"...I told my aunt I was thinking about quitting acting."

"What? Why?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm not really doing anything. Just waiting for the dog to go to the bathroom." Tai scratched its ear with its hind leg. Despite how hungry Seira was, he didn't seem to want to rush.

"Oh, fine then. I guess you won't really tell anyone, right?" Seira was a little exciting about possibly finding out the source of the hole in Damon's core, so she agreed. "My aunt used to date with this guy." Damon started as he joined them on their walk. "Apparently, she was really in love with him, but he ended up leaving her for someone else. It wasn't until the other woman conceived a child that she realized that the woman was her sister. That guy apparently freaked out or something at being a father and ditched her too." Damon scratched his nose. "My aunt's been taking care of me since my mom died when I was three."

Damon grew up not knowing much about his parents, just that his father was an actor at some point, a detail that slipped from his aunt's mouth when he was seven. He started to reenact scenes from commercials or tv shows, just "to be like daddy", and that was when the cogs in his aunt's mind started to spin.

"It wasn't until two or three years ago did I know any of that backstory, but my aunt started to become obsessed with the idea of me being an actor. I don't mind it, but she's too controlling and neurotic. That's why I was glad that I transferred to Comet Bay. I thought it would open up a chance to quit."

"Do you want to quit? I mean, I only saw the commercial for Wake Me Up on t.v., but what I saw looked good."

"Only the commercial?! You haven't seen any of my movies? Or t.v. appearances?!"

"I only really play video games and watch cartoons and anime," Seira admitted. "Oh, but my dad might know you! His guilty pleasure is watching celebrity gossip and stuff." Damon muttered something unintelligible under his breath as his eyes narrowed, but Seira could tell his pride had likely been hurt a little.

"I want to quit so she can start getting her own shit together. I mean, she really thinks that making me famous will bring my dad back to her or probably something like that. It's a mess, and I don't feel like being used by her anymore."

"But...you like acting?" Seira looked at Damon in the eyes as Tai sniffed at a potential poop spot.

"I like it but...you saw how insane my aunt is. Seriously. I just want her to cool down a little." Seira found herself chuckling a bit to herself. "Wow, you just heard a dark backstory, and you laugh?"

"Ah, no! It's not that! I was just thinking that you're actually really nice. Liliette thinks you're the most selfish person on the planet."

"_Selfish_? How am I selfish?" Tai finally settled on a nearby bush to poop.

"Well, you tend to go at your own pace. It's more like you can be...inconsiderate?"

"I'll show her inconsiderate..." Damon muttered. "Oh, good boy!" He pat Tai after the dog finished its business. "This is a boy, right?"

"Yep. For some reason, the cream coat makes everyone think he's a girl-"

_**CLANMG!**_

A loud crash was heard as one of the street lights went out.

"Power surge?" Damon asked.

"I don't know-" Tai started barking wildly, as if frightened. "It's okay, Tai, it's fine-" But Tai wasn't barking at the street lamp, but an entirely different spot.

"...Could it be a core?"

"Then take out your Nova and let's fight it!"

"Err...that's a problem. It kind of...broke."

"You broke it?!"

"I didn't break it! Maybe someone else did!"

"_Maybe?!_" Another street light went out and Tai's barking seemed to follow whatever presence was there.

"Wait, try your Water Sting! Did you bring it?" Damon dug in his pocket and finally pulled out the rectangle. "Try setting a mine or something?"

"Uh...Let's see...do I just press?" Damon pressed a random location and nothing happened.

"Maybe...aim?"

"I'm working on it! Uh...I don't know where it would be though! Tell your dog to stop barking so I can concen-" It was as if Seira and Damon had the same idea at the same time.

"Come on, boy. What do you smell? What do you smell?"

"Let's see...we're here so...there!" A burst of water shot out of the ground like a stinger, and the profile of a small ferret was seen as it evaporated.

"You did it!"

"Yeah!" Seira and Damon high-fived. "You need to get that Nova fixed."

"Okay."

"Come on. I'll walk you home." Damon took the umbrella from Seira and held it over the both of them as they walked down the sidewalk. It was silent for a while, until they got near Seira's house.

"Hey, Damon? Are your movies on Webima? I think I'll try watching one."

"Really? Well, be careful you don't fall in love with me _too_ much." Seira snorted, covering her mouth with her free hand. "Yes, because I'm undesirable." He spat out.

"Liliette is right about your ego though."

"Hmph. Well, anyway. Thanks for listening to me tonight. You're very...talk-to-able? Here." Damon gave the umbrella back to Seira, kissing her cheek in the process. Her face instantly froze to a poker-face expression, making Damon laugh. "See you at school, Mars Bar!" Seira looked at Tai, who was anxiously awaiting to get out of the rain, which was actually starting to lighten up.

Seira was relieved to see Damon acting like normal the next day, and was thinking over it as she got her stuff from her locker to leave.

_I hope things are working out at home..._

"Space Case!" Seira looked up to see Ryan holding a stack of books. "Some help?"

"Oh, sure!" Seira took some from the top pile. "It seems you're only doing errands when we meet."

"What can I say? I guess I'm a helpful guy. Oh, by the way, are you really dating that actor guy?"

"Dating? What actor guy?"

"You know-short brown hair, big flirt, we all saw each other the other day-"

"Damon?!"

"Yeah, that's him. I was riding around last night from work and I saw him kiss you. I was surprised, because you know, he's famous and you're...uh..."

"I'm 'Space Case'?"

"Taking the words right out of my mouth!" Ryan laughed. "But seriously, are you?"

"No, no, of course not!"

"Okay, cool. Here we are!" Damon opened the class door with his free hand. As classes were over, they were both expecting it to be empty, but there was a guy with messy black hair tied in a ponytail. He looked as tall as a student, but the sunglasses he wore made him look older. He was quickly pressing some buttons on his phone when they walked him, and he idly turned his head to them.

"Ah..." Seira wasn't sure what he was looking at with those sunglasses, but then quickly pointed at her. "You."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Do I look familiar?"

"Do you...?" Seira had never been good with faces, and the sunglasses made it harder. "Uh...I don't think so."

"Good. See ya!" The guy bumped into Seira on the way out.

"Did he look familiar to you?" Seira asked Ryan, who shrugged.

"Not really...but I feel I have seen him before. Oh, by the way, what's your cell number?" Ryan put the books down on a desk and Seira followed suit.

"Well, I could give it, but I don't think it'll do any good. My cell phone sort of broke." Seira reached in her pocket to show Ryan the Nova, but all she could get was air. "...Uh oh."

"Uh oh?"

"...My cell phone is gone..." _The Nova is gone!_

"Let's trace your steps then. It can't be far."

"Right..." _Please be right!_

The guy watched as Seira and Ryan went down the opposite hall, then looked at the Nova more closely, pressing all sorts of buttons.

"Hmm...it won't turn on no matter what I do...I guess 'I' really have a habit of breaking machines...But it's a good thing this me has a habit of fixing them." Behind the sunglasses green eyes flickered with excitement.

* * *

This has not been the Nova's week; first broken, now stolen...Well, the good news is this arc, which I'm calling "The Start" is almost over! The real excitement will begin soon!

サクラ・ミズキ


	8. Chapter 6

Warning, this is another plot-centric chapter...the next one is guaranteed action, promise! Also, that chapter will be the conclusion of the Beginnings Arc!

* * *

There was a judging silence as Sirus just stared blankly. Seira's awkwardness made her hands shake a little as she brought the mug to her mouth. Of course, she couldn't have a simple after-school snack at home with Liliette and Damon without bringing up the Nova.

"Oh, come on, I didn't lose it on purpose!" Seira gave up on calmly having the tea. Sirus groaned as he floated down to the table.

"First you break it-"

"I didn't break it."

"And then you lose it."

"..."

"Can't we just get a new one? I mean, the Zoidiakos is a powerful mafia, right?" Damon asked. "Isn't something like a cellphone replaceable?"

"First, we're not the mafia. Second, imagine if someone fixes it and sees inside. What if Seira has any embarrassing pictures? Like duckfaces or nude selfies?"

"I don't do any of that!" Seira's face flushed.

"But really, the problem is the existence of the cores." Sirus turned serious. "That's something that can cause panic and paranoia within the masses. It's best to take care of it as discreetly as possible."

"I want to know about that guy who bumped into you today." Liliette stated. "Isn't that a common pickpocketing technique?"

"You think he stole it?" Seira asked.

"Maybe. Let's just tell the principal tomorrow."

"Yeah. I mean, a guy with black hair and green eyes can't be that common in our school."

"Actually, I saw one the other day, when it broke." Seira said. "He was the one who touched my phone, and when he gave it back it wouldn't turn on or charge or anything."

"So there are two guys at our school that break phones and steal them."

"Wait!" Sirus suddenly popped up. "I have to disagree with the principal idea."

"Why?"

"What would you guys say? That you lost a very rare and valuable phone? Where would someone who doesn't even have brand clothes get that sort of thing?"

"Wearing non-brand clothes doesn't mean I'm poor!" Seira protested, but saw Liliette and Damon agreeing with Sirus.

"So, in other words, that would just bring unnecessary attention on Seira and in turn the Zoidiakos."

"I can't bring attention to them if I'm not a part of them." Seira muttered.

"Well, we can just ask our fans." Liliette offered. "Just ask if they know any guys with black hair and greens eyes. That can't be hard."

"Yeah, that seems easy enough." Damon agreed. "And Seira you can...uh...ask Julia."

"Jane."

"Right." Seira felt it would be redundant to ask Jane considering she was both a fan of Liliette and Damon.

Seira arrived at school early, hoping to get an early investigation of the room she and Ryan went to yesterday. Maybe it just dropped after all. As she opened the room, she saw Mr. Nicolas examining the pile of books placed there.

"Oh, good morning, Mr. Nicolas."

"Good morning, Seira."

"Um...have you seen a phone here?"

"No."

"Oh, okay." For some reason, talking to Mr. Nicolas drained Seira.

"Did you think about the club?" Mr. Nicolas asked as Seira was about to walk out.

"The club?"

"Yes, the math club. I asked you about it the other day."

"Oh, um...are you the head of it?"

"No."

"Okay. But, um, I'll think about it!" Seira quickly left the room, her head starting to hurt. In fact, her head always seemed to hurt around Mr. Nicolas' lately.

"Hey!" A gruff voice called out from behind her. It was the guy she bumped into yesterday, with thick glasses and untidy black hair. Even his shirt-a shirt/sweater-vest combo-somehow made itself look messy. "Here." He quickly held out a plastic bag. Inside was the Nova.

"My phone! You found it?" The guy didn't say anything but strode away when Seira took the bag. _I wonder why he put it in a bag? _She briefly recalled a character from a shoujo manga she had read that couldn't handle a phone without wearing gloves or else it would break within 10 seconds. "But that sort of guy isn't real?" She pulled out the phone and saw the white indicator light was on. She quickly pressed the power button in surprised and sure enough, the Nova was good as new. "Did you fix it?" The guy's body twitched for a moment, as if unsure how to reply. He decided that the best answer was none and turned away. "Ah! Wait!..." He didn't wait. "Thank you!" For a moment, the guy stopped, nodded at Seira, then walked away again.

Liliette had a studio recording to attend, so it was just Seira and Damon at lunch. When Seira described the encounter, Damon replied that it was really weird.

"You know, maybe those two guys are related."

"Like brothers?"

"Or cousins. I mean, that would make it easy to get at whatever the other has."

"That doesn't really explain how the first guy broke my phone-or how he fixed it."

"It can't be that hard," Damon shrugged. "Maybe he felt bad that his cousin took it, and got it repaired at a cell phone store."

"How would a cell phone store repair something that isn't even on the market yet?"

"Maybe it's...I dunno! Look, I'm not a techie, okay." Damon focused on downing his water bottle as Seira looked at the Nova's home screen. Sirus' words reflected in her mind, that the person who fixed it would undoubtably want to explore it a little.

"I wish I asked for his name...You think I'll see him again?"

"Well, it's not that big of a school, I'm sure that you'll pass by once or twice. Why? You have a crush on him or something?"

"No!"

"When you have someone as gorgeous as me around?" Seira reasoned that the best way to deal with Damon when he started that was silence, and it did get to him. "Ok, fine."

The next few days passed by quietly, despite Sirus' anxiousness about whoever held knowledge of the cores. Seira shared his anxiety, but frowned upon a forced interrogation of the students. On Thursday, like always, Seira was at her locker, getting ready to go home for the day, hopefully without a core attack.

"Space Case!"

"Oh, hey, Ryan." Ryan didn't really seem his energetic self, but more desperate. "What's up?"

"Are you free right now?"

"Yes...?"

"Awesome! I need you to do me a favor. Can you drop this off at Tory Orlov's house?"

"Who?"

"Oh, wait, he's in my grade, so you wouldn't know him...Not a lot of people know this guy. He's sort of quiet, but he looks like that guy we saw the other day in the classroom."

"That guy...with the sunglasses and ponytail?"

"That's the one!"

"...Does Tory have messy hair and clothes that somehow look like they should be tidy, but aren't?"

"That's him! He called in sick today, and my professor needed to give him a book for homework this weekend. I thought I could do it, but then my boss called me for a job. But it's cool if you can't. See ya!"

"Um, wait!" Seira got her phone GPS ready. "What's his address?"

Tory's house wasn't too far from school, so it didn't take long to walk there.

"Are you sure it's ok to go to his house? He doesn't know you." Liliette asked as they walked together. She had insisted on joining Seira as she saw her leave.

"Well, he knew me enough to return my phone to me. I think it'll be fine? And you don't have to come with me if you don't want to, Liliette."

"No, I do!" Liliette hugged Seira. "We haven't spent anytime together lately, it's always you and Damon!" It was true that since Damon went on his acting break, he had a lot of free time, and insisted it be spent with Seira or Seira and Liliette (and sometimes Jane). "You're not actually into Damon, are you?"

"No, I'm not!"

"Not even a little?"

"No." There was a pause for a moment.

"Seira? Um...if you're...you know...like coconuts over bananas you can tell me."

"What?" Seira honestly didn't understand what Liliette was referring to. "That's kind of random, but I guess I like both."

"Really?! I didn't think you were free like that."

"Yeah, I mean, I'm not very picky."

"Well, I guess you do seem kind of desperate." While the idea of Liliette not talking about what Seira thought she was marinated in Seira's mind, they arrived at Tory's house. "Oh, it looks nice! But I guess a lot of the kids at Comet Bay have at least one well-off relative." Seira rang the doorbell and a woman with short black hair and dark eyes opened it.

"Um, can I help you girls?"

"We're from Comet Bay. A teacher wanted this to be given to Tory so that he could do the homework." Seira showed the book to the woman.

"Tory, you said?" Seira nodded, and the woman called into the house. "Tory! Some girls from you school are here to see you, Tory!" The woman looked back to the girls. "You can wait in the living room." She led them into the house and let them sit. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, thank you."

"I'll have a sparkling water?"

"Um..I'll go check." As the woman went into the kitchen, footsteps were heard on the stairs. His hair was messy and crimped at the edges, and his sweater vest seemed very hastily put on.

"Oh, um, hi."

"Hey, you're Tory, right? I'm Liliette and this is Seira-you gave her back her phone."

"Oh, right, right." Although more talkative, Tory also seemed more out of it. "So, um, what are you doing here?"

"Seira has something for you..." Liliette looked at Seira and noticed her face. "Seira, what's wrong?" At first, Seira didn't know. Something about how Tory was now unnerved her, like she knew something was wrong.

"I don't...think that's Tory."

"Huh?" Liliette was confused. "So are you like his brother, or-"

"Ah, no! Of course I'm Tory, I'm just-" he coughed. "Probably just the fever." He came down to get the book from Seira's hand, but Seira quickly replaced it with her Nova. Nothing happened, which is why his face suddenly became anxious. He quickly grabbed Seira's hand and pulled her upstairs just as the woman came back.

"So, all I could find was a flavored water...is that ok?"

Seira was surprised by the guy's sudden speed, then internally freaked out when he started to take off his sweater vest. Quickly, he took off the glasses and replaced them with sunglasses and put his hair in a ponytail.

"I didn't peg you for a cheater." He stated cooly.

"What?"

"Why were you so sure I wasn't Tory?"

"You didn't break my phone?"

"Besides that! I look just like him!"

"I dunno. I'm not good with faces, but it just seemed that there was something off about you. But I guess it's strange since I've only met Tory twice, huh? So...wait, you were the guy who took my phone!"

"Correction: _Fixed_ your phone. You already noticed that whenever Tory touches something, it breaks right? Well, that's not true. Really just cell phones and computers and televisions. He's good with things with gears and wheels and stuff. Me? I'm good with all the cyber tech." Immediately, the guy started to type into his computer.

"So, who are you?"

"Hmm. Well, my screenname is KeanuVane11, but you can call me one or the other."

"So..Vane? Where's Tory?" There was a moment, then Vane stopped typing on the keyboard. There was a long pause and he took off the sunglasses and spoke in a softer voice.

"...I'm Tory."

"Oh, so _you're_ Lily! I thought you looked familiar! My niece is a big fan!"

"Really?" Lily cautiously looked upstairs, worried about Seira and whoever that Tory guy was. She almost thought she should go upstairs herself, but was relieved when Seira and the guy came downstairs. There was something different about him this time, like he blended into the wallpaper.

"Tory?" His mom asked cautiously. "Is everything fine?" He nodded softly. Lily almost thought he was going to fade away.

"So, Seira...we'll talk tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll see you in the library. Let's go, Lily. Thanks, Ms. Orlov."

"So what was that about? Why is Tory so weird?" Lily asked when they left.

"He was a little surprised about my cellphone. He's cool now." Seira assured her.

"Was it ok? I saw his mom have green eyes, he could've been the one who stole it in the first place!"

_Dead on._ Seira thought. But that would have to wait for tomorrow.

The next day after school, Seira went straight to the library and immediately saw Tory around a pile of books.

"Were you here all day?" Seira asked. Tory looked up a bit, but didn't reply immediately, per his speaking habit.

"...They let me keep books in this spot. It's because I can't use the computers to search for things." Seira could imagine the stress of having computers continuously break.

"Well, why don't you have Vane do it?"

"...He's not interested in school stuff. That's why only I attend school."

"So, I asked Si-an expert about this condition." Yesterday, when Seira picked up on Tory/Vane, Tory had no problem explaining that there was both him and Vane inside of their body. It was like a split personality, but they were both aware of their 'brother' and could even communicate. However, the non-active one would mostly sleep.

"Does it have something to do with our 'cores'?" Tory's voice became more confident, meaning that now Vane was out.

"Huh?"

"When I fixed your phone, I also tried to check it for nude pics and selfies-ow! You're in a library!" Vane took the book away from Seira before she could hit him with it again.

_I'm never telling Sirus he was right_.

"So, I guess you know."

"Some things. Mostly about that weird GPS and the blinking lights. The map called them 'cores', and it showed there were four in our house despite only being three bodies."

"Well, I guess cores are like the essence of people? It can get corrupted or damaged, so it's my job to fix it apparently."

"Why?"

"I was sort of pushed into it." Seira sighed. "I mean, I can't really leave people who are in trouble...so aside from that, if it read four cores, then you and Tory are separate people rather than just one with a two minds-is what I think it's called."

"Split personality."

"Do your parents know?"

"I'm pretty sure you'd notice if your child had drastically different personalities at random intervals. They tried taking us to shrinks and stuff, but it's not like it's hurting us. So they just stopped after a while. They sort of just accept it."

"Hmm."

"Oh, Tory wants to say something." Seira thought it was interesting that Vane would just barge into control while Tory would be polite about it.

"...Can we help?"

"Huh?"

"In your helping people whose cores have gone bad."

"Well, it's kind of dangerous. I mean, you also have to be chosen."

"...By what?"

"Uh...the cellphone." There was a longer pause than usual.

"...Vane wants you to know he's giving you a look like you're crazy."

"Thanks for the message." Seira felt it was a bit hypocritical to be took that she was crazy by Vane, and it felt worse with Tory's deadpan expression.

"..." Tory gave Seira a blank look, staring out into space.

"Uh, Tory?"

"...No...Vane just...remembers_._"

"What?"

"Someone called the cellphone right after I fixed it." Vane said, scratching his forehead.

"Who?"

"It was a guy, but it was really staticky and short. He hung up after I spoke into it. There was no caller i.d. afterwards and it was really weird. So I asked my web friends about it."

"You...you told people about the Nova?!"

"No, are you crazy?!"

"Shh!" The librarian cautiously warned them, leading them to sink back into the bookpile.

"...They'd swarm my i.p. address about that sort of phone!" Vane continued, hushed. "I just asked about a mysterious calling voice! Nothing came up."

"Well, for now-ow!" Seira looked up when a book fell on her head. "What was-oof!" Another book fell on her face.

"Tori wants to know if you're ok."

"Yeah..." _Not you?_ "I'm gonna go see." Seira went to the other side of the bookshelf and saw an angry Sirus floating up. "Sirus?!" Seira was shocked but kept her voice down. "What are you doing here?!"

"The Zoidaikos sent some hitmen."

"What? Why?"

"Because someone that wasn't you answered their call. They're going after them now."

"Going after-why?"

"I did tell you the Nova is very important and the cores are on a need-to-know basis. They'll probably just get rid of the person."

"Oh no!" _Tory and Vane are in trouble!_

* * *

__This is my first time writing about a character with a split personality-well, kinda. I actually have fun with the Tory/Vane dynamic, but it took me forever to come up with Vane's name. I want to do theme naming somewhat, and the other teammates all have their names picked out, but it was so hard thinking of Vane's name. It used to be Gale, but that's more of a girl's name and sounded weird in my head (It's also my aunt's name with a different spelling). When I found "Vane" I fell in love with it for the character, but hesitated because I thought it would be too much like "vain" for people. The other option was Keanu, because it means 'breeze' and that whole technology/matrix association, but I kept imagining the "Sad Keanu" bench meme, and I couldn't do it. It just didn't match with the character's personality. So Vane it was!

Also, the Beginnings Arc is about to conclude! Just what will Seira do to protect Tory/Vane-if she chooses to? Find out-next month!

_Sakura Mizuki_


End file.
